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Collection  de 
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Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microraproductions 


Institut  Canadian  da  microraproductions  historiquas 


1960 


ifa 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


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7  "^ 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN 


UNDXB  THK 


ominion  of  Irance. 


BT 


S.    S,    HEBBERD. 


MA.DISON,  WIS.: 

UIDLANO    FUBLISBIHG  CO. 


v-^ 


.■*'■ 

if' 


COPYRIGHT,  1890, 

BY 

S.  S.  HKBB^RD. 


TI 


TO    MY    COMRADES 

OF    THE 

GRAND    ARMY    OF    THE    REPUBLIC, 

DEPARTMENT   OF    WISCONSIN, 

THIS    EARLY    HISTORY    OF    OUR    STATE 

IS    DEDICATED. 


tor 


PREFACE. 


This  book  deals  with  one  of  the  most  im- 

)ortant  chapters  of  American  history;  and  yet 

)ne  heretofore  quite  unknown.      The  story  of 

the  French  Empire  in  America  has  long  been 

nvested  with  a  deep  dramatic  and  philosophic 

nterest;  for,  it  has  been  well  understood  that 

|.ipon  the  downfall  of  that  dominion  depended 

the  rise  of  American   liberty.      And  in  these 

)ages  I  hope  to  show  that  the  French  struggle 

for  supremacy  over   the   continent  was,   to  a 

large    extent,    decided    by    events    that    took 

)lace  in  Wisconsin.      Here  was    the  entering 

^vedge  of  disaster  and  ruin.      Here  happened 

the   real    although    obscure   crisis   in   a    great 

Irama  of  which  the  Fall  of  Quebec  was  merely 

the  closing  scene. 

The  main  reason  why  these  matters  have 
Inot  been  understood  is,  that  the  history  of  the 
IWest  has  yet  to  be  written.  Our  chief  histor- 
lical  works  have  heretofore  come  from  the  far 
lEast;  and  contemplated  at  that  distance,  affairs 
in  the  West  have  seemed  but  dim  and  trivial 


6  PREFACE. 

episodes  in  the  story  of  what  has  happened  on 
the  narrow  strip  of  land  between  the  Allegha- 
nies  and  the  Atlantic.      An  adequate  historyj 
of  America  can  not  be  written  from  so  one- 
sided a  point  of  view. 

But   the   materials  for  the  new  history  arc] 
being  gathered  rapidly  and  in  great  abundance. 
It    is    surprising    how    much    light    has    been] 
thrown,    within   a   very   few   years,    upon   the] 
early  history  of  the  West  by  such  great  pub- 
lications   as    the    Collection    de    Manuscripts! 
relatifs    a  la    Nouvelle    France,    the     Margry 
Manuscripts,  Brymmers  Canadian  Reports  and 
Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History;  alsoj 
by  the  invaluable  volumes  of  Faillon,  Ferland, 
Tailhan,     Harrisse,      Suite,     Shea,     Parkman, 
Neill,    Butterfield  and  others;  last  but  by  nol 
means   least, .by  the   material   printed   in  the 
Collections  of  the    Wisconsin  and  Minnesota! 
Historical  Societies  or  preserved  in  their  libra- 
ries. 

And  yet  the  most  important  part  of  this 
work  remains  to  be  done.  The  State  of  Wis- 
consin ought  immediately  to  take  measures  for 
the  exploration  of  the  Archives  at  Paris  where 
there  are  still  sealed  up  many  invaluable  papers 
pertaining  to  her  past.  Wisconsin,  among  all 
her  sister  states,  occupies  the  central  and  most 


rt^:- 


PREFACE. 


nportant  position  in  the  early  annals  of  the 
lountry;  and  her  citizens  ought  to  feel  a  pat- 
(iotic  interest   in  having  her  history  brought 

jlly  to  the  light.      It  has  been  my  chief  hope 
writing  this  book,  that  it  might  contribute 
lomewhat  to  that  result. 

I   have   been   compelled,  in   many  different 
)arts  of  this  volume,  to  very  decidedly  dissent 
jrom  the  conclusions  reached  by  that  eloquent 
ind  indefatigable  historian,  Parkman,  both  in 
lis  book   upon    La  Salle    and   that   upon  the 
'onspiracy    of    Pontiac.       But    this,    however 
nuch  to  be  regretted,  was  unavoidable.      Mr. 
[\irkman  has  been  amazingly  unfortunate  in  his 
rhoice  of  La  Salle  as  his  hero  and  "the  chief 
ictor  in  the  discovery  of  the  West."  The  great- 
est genius,   crippled  by  such   misconceptions, 
:ould   only  attain  to  distorted  and  deceptive 
"iews.      Similarly,  although   not   to   the   same 
^reat  extent,  his  account  of  the  Conspiracy  of 
^ontiac  is  defective;  and  that  striking  passage 
In  Western  history  remains  yet  to  be  described 
[rom  a  point  of  view  which  has  entirely  escaped 
lis  notice. 
I  expect  and  desire  to  be  criticised  myself. 

l11  but  the  first  quarter  of  this  book  is,  in  every 
essential  respect,  entirely  new.  The  history, 
especially  of  the  period  from   1700  to  1763,  I 


.« 


PREFACE, 


have  been  compelled  to  construct  out  of  data] 
widely  scattered  through  the  different  collect- 
ions of  documents;  and  in  work  of  such  a  pio- 
neering kind,  errors  will  inevitably  be  found. 
But  for  every  important  statement  ampkl 
reference  to  authorities  has  been  given.  And 
I  now  dismiss  this  book,  believing  that  it  con- 
tains a  faithful  picture  of  events  with  which 
every  citizen  of  Wisconsin  and  the  West  ought | 
.to  be  familiar. 
Menomonik,  Wis. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

NlCOLET     AND    RAHISSON  —  THE    DISCOVERY 

OF  THE  West. 
1638 — 1662. 

The  Men  of  the  Sea  —  A  Highway  to  China  —  Nicolet's 
Journey  —  His  Disenchantment — Visits  the  Mascotitins  — 
Kadisson  —  His  First  Journey  to  Wisconsin  —  Discovers 
the  Mississippi  —  Second  Journey  —  Winters  on  the  Chip- 
pewa—  The  Famine  —  The  Sioux  —  Radisson  at  Hudson's 
Bay. 

CHAPTER  II. 

Green  Bay  and  the  Jesuit  Missions. 

1 66 1  —  1 67 1. 

Menard  —  Lost  in  the  Wisconsin  Wilderness  —  Martyr- 
dom—  Chequamegon  Bay — A  tjarbaric  Emporium  —  Flight 
of  the  Indians  and  Ruin  of  the  Mission  —  The  Green  Bay 
Region  —  An  Oasis  in  a  Western  Desert — AUouez  —  The 
Mascoutins  and  the  Gospel— The  Foxes— A  Jesuit  Em- 
pire. 

CHAPTER  III. 

La  Salle  and  the  Coureurs  de  Bois. 

1672  —  1682. 

La  Salle's  Hatred  of  the  Jesuits — His  Jealousy  of  Green 
Bay  —  His  Pretended  Discoveries  —  His  Colony  —  Fraudu- 
lent Figures — The  Forest  Rangers — Their  Services  to 
France  —  Their  Accusei's — The  Pioneers  of  Wisconsin. 


10 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Nicolas   Perrot  —  France  takes  Posses- 
sion OF  the  West. 
1689. 

Perrot  Sent  to  the  Wisconsin  Indians  — Accused  of  Pois- 
oning La  Salle  —  Made  Governor  of  Wisconsin  —  The  Eaid 
on  Green  Bay  —  Fort  St.  Antoine  —  Perrot's  Subsequent 
Career  — The  Chippewas  Keturn  to  Wisconsin  —  The  Fur- 
Trade— The  Secret  of  Iroquois  Glory. 

CHAPTER  V. 

The  Betrayal  of  the  Foxes. 
1700 —  1 71 2. 

The  French  Policy  — The  Curse  of  Canada— Chafing 
under  the  Yoke  — The  Foxes  Propose  to  Emigrate  — En- 
ticed to  Detroit— Attack  by  the  French  —  Horrors  of  the 
Siege  — Escape  — Pursuit  — Two  Thousand  Massacred. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

The  Gauntlet  Taken  Up. 
1 71 2  —  1 7 16. 

Vengeance  upon  the  Illinois  — Alarm  of  the  French  — 
Their  Plan  — Perrot's  Protest  — De  Louvigny's  Expedition 
—  The  Foxes  Waiting  their  Doom  — The  Siege  — The  Sur- 
render—Death of  the  Chiefs  — Mouming  for  the  Dead  — 
The  One-eyed  Hostage. 


1:. 


CONTENTS. 


II 


CHAPTER  VII. 

The  Great  Confederacy. 
1716 — 1726. 

The  Continent  at  Peace  —  John  Law  and  the  Mississippi 
Bubble  —  Diplomacy  of  the  Foxes  —  The  Wisconsin  Tribes 
United  —  Alliance  with  the  Sioux  —  Rival  Traders  Arm  the 
Indians — The  Wisconsin  Tribes — The  lowas — The  Chick- 
asaws  —  The  Illinois  Gibraltar — Besieged  by  the  Foxes  — 
Last  Romnant  of  the  Illinois  flee. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Extermination  by  Famine. 
1726 — 1728. 

Grand  Council  at  Green  Bay — The  French  Conciliatory 
—  Fort  Beauharnais  Built — The  Mask  Thrown  Aside  — 
De  Lignery's  Expedition  —  Tigers  at  their  Devotions  — 
Unaccountable  Delay  —  Flight  of  the  Prey  —  The  Country 
Laid  Waste  — The  Cold  Winter  — Glee  of  the  French. 

CHAPTER  IX. 

By  Fire. 
1728  — 1736. 

Four  Thousand  Exiles  —  False  Friends  —  Burning  of 
Women  and  Children  —  Expeditions  of  Marin  and  De  Buis- 
son  — De  Villiei's  —  Foxes  Besieged  at  Rock  St.  Louis  — 
Massacre  —  A  Lull  in  the  Stonn  —  Another  Massacre  —  A 
Woman's  Devotion  —  The  Tragedy  at  Green  Bay —  Sauks 
and  Foxes  Expelled  — De  Noyelle's  Expedition  —  The 
French  Fiasco. 


Jff^ 


12 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  West  in  Revolt. 

1736— 1752. 

Spreading  Flames  —  Presents  for  the  Foxes — The  Chip- 
pewa  Chief  and  his  Son  — Stoiyof  Lac  Court  Oreilles  — 
The  Reign  of  Discontent— Michigan  —  Tlie  Miamis — Ruin 
of  French  Trade  —  Political  Corruption  — The  Green  Bay 
"Ring "  —  Marin's  Slaughter  of  the  Foxes. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Fall  of  the  Frenxh  Empire. 
1752  — 1763. 

The  Exiles  on  the  Wisconsin  —  Prairie  du  Chien  —  A 
Barbaric  Metropolis  —  Indian  Miners  —  The  Younger  Marin 
at  Green  Bay  —  Langlade  —  Splendid  Services  — Defend- 
ers of  a  Lost  Cause. 

CHAPTER  Xn. 
The  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac. 

English  Policy  in  the  West — Extent  of  Pontiac's  Con- 
spiracy—  The  English  at  Green  Bay  —  Delight  of  the  Wis- 
ccasin  Tribes  —  Capture  of  Mackinac  —  The  Ottawas 
Overawed  —  The  Death  of  Pontiac  —  A  Marvellous  Blun- 
der—  Wisconsin's  Part  in  the  Struggle  for  Liberty  —  The 
End. 


i  m 
■\   II 


CHAPTER  I. 

NICOLET      AND     RADISSON  —  THE     DISCOVERY 
OF    THE    WEST. 

1638-1662. 

The  gaze  of  the  French  colonists  in  America 
was,  from  the  very  first,  drawn  to  Wisconsin 
as  the  chief  centre  of  interest  in  the  West. 
Within  tw'enty-fiv^e  years  after  the  founding  of 
the  colony  at  Quebec,  some  knowledge  had 
been  gained  of  Lakes  Superior  and  Winnebago, 
and  of  the  Fox  river.  The  Mascoutins  dwell- 
ing upon  the  river  just  named  had  been  heard 
of,  also  another  nation  living  near  Lake  Win- 
nebago—  "the  men  of  the  sea,"  a  strange 
people  of  altogether  different  language  and 
habits  from  other  Indians.  Thus  Wisconsin 
had  emerged  into  a  certain  dim  light,  while  all 
the  rest  of  the  vast  interior  was  wrapped  in 
darkness. 

The  story  of  "the  men  of  the  sea"  above  all 
else  fired  the  imagination  of  the  French.  The 
little  band  of  traders  and  missionaries  gathered 
at  Quebec,  had  no  conception  of  the  vastness 
of  the  continent    which    they    were    seeking 


.!i* 


H 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


li' 


to  control  and  to  convert.  As  late  as  1654, 
the  Jesuit,  Mercier,  declared  that  it  was 
about  nine  days  journey,  or  a  hundred 
leagues  from  the  strange  people  on  Lake 
Winnebago  to  the  sea  that  separated 
America  from  China.'  And  that  people,  it 
was  reported  had  not  only  come  from  the 
ocean  but  closely  resembled  the  Orientals  in 
speech  and  customs.  To  the  eager  fancy  of 
the  French,  Eastern  Wisconsin  had  thus  be- 
come the  threshold  of  a  fairy-land;  and  Fox 
river  the  long  sought  highway  to  the  riches 
and  splendors  of  the  Orient. 

Jean    Nicolet    was  sent,    in   the   year    1638 
probably,  ="  to  negotiate  a  peace  between  this 

(1)  Relation,  1654.  The  idea  had  thus  persisted  long 
after  Nicolet's  trip. 

(2)  Those  able  investigators,  Suite  and  Butterfleld  have 
put  this  date  in  634.  But  I  am  forced  to  dissent  from 
their  generally  accepted  conclusion,  for  the  following 
reasons: 

(a)  "  There  is  no  probability,"  Suite  says  {Wis.  Hist. 
Coll.  y///,  193,)  "that  Nicolet  went  to  Wisconsin  in  that 
short  period  of  less  than  ten  mouths —  in  1638."  The  trip 
each  way,  he  asserts,  would  consume  ten  weeks.  But  let 
us  see.  De  Lignery's  expedition  left  the  Winnebago  vil- 
lage on  Doty's  Island,  August  24;  ascended  the  river 
farther  than  Nicolet  did,  employed  some  days  in  laying 
waste  the  country,  then  turned  about  and  reached  Montreal 
September  28 — a  period  of  just  thirty-five  days.  {Crea- 
pel.  De  Lignery'H  Expedition,  Wis.  His.  Coll.X.,b\-^.) 
Nicolet  could  have  done  his  work  and  returned  as  quickly, 


NICOLET  AND  RADISSON. 


5 


mysterious  Wisconsin  people  and  some  tribes 
living  farther  eastward.  Having  already- 
passed  some  ten  or  twelve  years  of  his  life 
among  the  Indians,  he  was  well  fitted  for  this 
perilous  trip  of  a  thousand  miles  into  the 
depths  of  the  wilderness.  Going  first  to  the 
Huron  country  and  thence  embarking  for  Wis- 
consin with  an  escort  of  but  seven  savages,  he 
safelv  reached  his  destination.  The  strange 
people  came  forth  to  greet  their  visitor  with  a 
delight  tempered  with  awe.  They  believed 
him  to  be  a  manitou  or  spirit;  and  when  Nico- 
let  discharged  his  pistols,  the  women  and  chil- 
dren fled  in  dismay,  "seeing  a  man  carry 
thunder  in  both  hands." 

Nicolet,  on  his  part,    was   also  the  victim  of 

the  facilities  of  travel  being  precisely  tiie  same.  What 
time  now  would  tiie  trip  from  Three  Elvers  to  the  Winne- 
bagoeshave  demanded?  In  1()34  Bre'beuf  made  the  trip,  an 
average  one,  from  Three  Rivers  to  the  Huron  country  in 
thirty  days.  (Parkman,  Jesuits  in  N.  America,  55.)  Add- 
ing now  fifteen  days,  a  large  estimate,  as  consumed  in  go- 
ing from  the  Hurons  to  the  Winuebagoes,  we  have  forty- 
five  days.  Or  for  the  trip  both  ways  and  the  doing  of  all 
that  was  done,  eighty  days,  instead  of  the  thirty  weeks 
that  Suite  claims  as  necessary.  I  do  not  by  any  means 
say  that  the  trip  was  made  in  eighty  days;  Suite's  church 
i-egister  leaves  much  larger  intervals.  But  the  whole  basis 
of  his  argument  is  thus  overthrown.  Again,  Dablon  in 
IfiTO  made  an  equally  difficult  journey  of  1,500  miles  in  40 
days  (Relation,  IfiTl);    Nicolet's  journey  was  not  one  half 


i6 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


illusions.  Believing  that  he  was  about  to 
meet  a  people  from  the  stately  Orient,  he  had 
clothed  himself,  as  a  dress  of  ceremony,  with 
a  large  garment  of  China  damask  embroidered 
with  flowers  and  birds  of  various  colors.  Thus 
arrayed,  and  with  a  pistol  in  each  hand  he  ad- 
vanced to  meet  "the  men  of  the  sea."  In  a 
moment  all  his  dreams  vanished.  He  saw  be- 
fore him  only  a  mob  of  savages,  plumed  but 
naked,  differing  in  no  essential  respect  except 
language,  from  the  red  men  with  whom  he  had 
dwelt  for  years.  They  were  in  fact,  the  Win- 
nebagoes,  a  detached  branch  of  the  Sioux  or 
Dakota  race. 

In   spite  of  these  mutual  misapprehensions 
the   business   of   the    embassy   went  on   well. 

longer.  Consult  also  as  to  a  day's  journey ,  Tailhan  in  Per- 
rot,  Memoire,  240. 

(6)  The  plain  indication  of  great  haste.    If  Ni^olet  had 

nearly  a  year  to  spend  in  Wisconsin,  as  Suite  thinks,  would 

he  not  have  made  that  "  three  days  journey  to  the  Great 

Waters?"    Instead,  he  concludes  his  treaties  and  sets  out 

or  home. 

(c)  The  Relatione  of  the  disputed  years,  constantly  refer 
to  Nicolet,  but  with  no  hint  of  his  discoveries  —  no  less 
than  twelve  such  references  in  1H3()  and  1637.  Bre'beuf's 
silence  is  also  uttei'ly  incredible  if  Nicolet  was  then  really 
bound  for  the  West. 

(d)  "  Nicolet  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  Jesuits,"  says 
Suite.  On  this  consult  allusions  referred  to  above.  The 
argument  about  Nicol  jt's  marriage  need  not  detain  us. 


#.     ^' 


NICOLET  AND  RADISSOX. 


17 


"The  news  of  Nicolct's  coming  spreac^  to  the 
[surrounding  places;  four  or  five  thousand  men 
assembled."  Each  of  the  chiefs  gave  a  grand 
banquet  in  honor  of  their  guest;  and  after  the 
feasting  the  terms  of  peace  were  arranged  to  the 
Isatisfaction  of  all. 

Nicolet  then  made  a  flying  trip  up  the  Fox 

[river  to  the  land  of  the  Mascoutins;  and  there 

heard  of  the  not  distant  waters  of  the  Missis- 

jsippi.      "The  Sieur  Nicolet,"   writes  Vimont, 

"who  has  penetrated  farthest   into  those  dis- 


(e)  "Epoch  of  discoveiy  closed  in  lfi35."    But  Nicolet 
[was  sent  not  to  discover  but  to  negotiate  a  peace  —  a  mat- 
ter his  employers  were  specially  interested  in. 

(/)  Butterfleld's  additional  arguments;  first,  that  the  Ot- 
Itawa  was  closed  in  1638,  by  Iroquois  raids.  Rather,  com- 
munications better  than  usual.  Early  that  year  12  arti- 
sans and  laborers  came  up  from  Quebec  to  work  at  Huron 
Missions.  (Parkman,  Jesuits,  127  and  132.)  Missionaries 
also  came  at  different  times.  But  lfi34wasthe  very  worst  of 
years.  "Hurons  appeared  at  Three  Elvers  this  year  in 
small  numbers  and  in  a  miserable  state  of  dejection  and 
alarm."  {Ibid.,  52.)  Also  the  colony  then  in  the  chaos  of 
I  its  re-establishment. 

(flf)  Butterfleld's  argument  from  the  message  sent  to  the 
iHurons  in  1635,  is  self  destructive.  The  tribes  were  ever- 
lastingly making  treaties  between  themselves  and  one  of 
these  being  broken,  the  whites  were  appealed  to;  and  as 
soon  as  possible  Nicolet  was  sent  to  negotiate.  This,  in- 
finitely more  probable  than  that  his  treaty  should  have  been 
broken,  and  war  begun  almost  before  he  had  started  home- 
Iward. 

2  . 


i8 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


tant  countries,  says  that  if  he  had  gone  three 
more  days  up  a  great  river  that  leads  out  of 
Green  Bay,  he  would  have  reached  the  Great 
Waters." 

Why  did  this  daring  man  turn  back  when  he 
thus  stood  on  the  verge  of  so  great  a  discov- 
ery? The  reasons  are  not  stated  but  may  be 
readily  surmised.  He  had  been  sent  not  as  an 
explorer,  but  as  an  envoy  to  negotiate  peace, 
and  his  mission  was  now  accomplished.  His 
time  was  evidently  limited.  Possibly,  too, 
when  his  visions  of  Chinese  mandarins  and 
Asiatic  pomp  had  vanished,  the  Wisconsin 
wilderness  had  lost  its  charms. 

Nevertheless  Nicolet  deserves  the  highest 
honors.  At  a  time  when  the  English  had 
hardly  ventured  a  day's  journey  from  the  coast, 
this  Frenchman  had  penetrated  almost  to  the 
heart  of  the  continent.  He  had  lifted  the  veil 
of  mystery  that  hung  over  the  great  West. 
That  it  so  quickly  fell  again,  was  the  fault  of 
the  times  and  not  of  Nicolet. 


More  than  twenty  years  elapsed  after  Nicol- 
et's  journey  before  another  white  man  reached 
Wisconsin.  The  fury  ot  the  Iroquois  had  put 
a  stop  to  such  distant  expeditions.  The  ruin  of 
the  Huron  missions  had,  for  a  time  at  least,  par- 


NICOLET  AND  RADISSON. 


19 


alyzed  the  missionaries.  Trade  languished  on 
account  of  the  war  and  the  still  more  baleful 
influence  of  monopoly.  The  work  of  explor- 
ation and  expansion  was  at  a  stand-still. 

But  in  1658  Radisson  and  his  brother-in-law, 
Groseilliers,  began  their  explorations.  For  two 
centuries  nothing  was  known  of  their  travels 
except  through  some  obscure  mention  by  co- 
temporary  writers.  But  Radisson  had  himself 
written  an  account  for  the  use  of  the  King  of 
England,  into  whose  service  he  had  passed; 
and  his  manuscript,  after  passing  through 
strange  fortunes,  was  finally  published  in  1885. 
It  is  written  in  a  curious  style,  such  as  might 
be  expected  from  an  unscholarly  Frenchman 
struggling  with  the  eccentricities  of  English 
speech;  but  at  every  point  its  truthfulness  is 
manifest. 

The  travellers,  after  tarrying  for  a  while 
among  the  Huron  and  Ottawa  refugees  on  the 
Manitoulin  islands,  came  to  the  Pottawattam- 
ies  then  dwelling  on  the  islands  at  the  entrance 
of  Green  Bay.  Among  them  they  wintered 
and  the  next  spring  proceeded  to  the  Mascou- 
tins,  who  still  dwelt  on  the  upper  Fox  river, 
where  Nicolet  had  found  them  twenty  years  be- 
fore. Radisson  admiringly  describes  these 
Mascoutins   as    "a  faire,   proper  nation;   they 


20 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


arc  tall  and  bi^  and  very  strong."  The  sav- 
ages, on  their  part,  regarded  the  adventurer 
with  mingled  emotions  of  delight,  amazement, 
and  awe.  They  were  astounded,  above  all  else 
by  the  guns  which  they  "worshipped  by  blow- 
ing smoke  of  tobacco  instead  of  sacrifice." 

These  reverential  savages  carried  Radisson 
in  their  canoes  up  and  down  the  water-courses 
of  Wisconsin,  whithersoever  he  desired,  and 
in  this  way,  some  time  during  the  summer  of 
1659,  he  discovered  the  Mississippi  river. 

"We  are  fou  rmonths  on  our  voyage,"  Rad- 
isson writes,'  "without  doing  anything  but  go 
from  river  to  river.  We  met  several  sorts  of 
people.  By  the  persuasion  of  some  of  them, 
we  went  into  ye  great  river  that  divides  itself 
in  2,  where  the  hurrons  v/ith  some  Ottanaks* 
and  the  wild  men  that  had  warrs  with  them  had 
retired.  .  .  .  This  nation  (the  Mascou- 
tins)  have  warrs  against  those  of  the  forked 
river.  It  is  so  called  because  it  has  2 
branches,  the  one  towards  the  West,  the  other 
towards  the  South,  w^'^  we  beleeve  runs  tow- 
ards Mexico  by  the  tokens  which  they  gave 
us. 


(1)  Voyages  of  Radiaaon,  168. 

(2)  Hurons  and  Ottawas  who  had  fled  to  an  island  in  the 
Mississippi,  above  Lake  Pepin. 


NICOLET  AND  RADISSON. 


21 


After  some  other  details  Radisson  <;i\es  an 
account  of  "that  nation  that  lives  on  the  other 
river" — evidently  meaning  the  western  branch, 
that  is,  the  Missouri.  This  account  is  in  some 
of  its  parts,  quite  mythical;  but  Radisson  does 
not  claim  to  have  descended  to  the  Missouri  or 
to  be  here  narratinj^  except  from,  hearsay. 
"This,"  he  says,  "I  have  not  seene,  therefore 
you  may  beleeve  as  you  please." 

But  his  description  of  what  he  did  see,  de- 
monstrates that  "the  great  river"  on  which  he 
travelled,  was  the  Mississippi.  And  if  a  doubt 
were  possible,  it  would  be  set  at  rest  by  the 
description  of  Radisson's  discovery  given  at  the 
time  by  the  Jesuits:'  "A  beautiful  river, 
grand,  wide,  deep  and  comparable  to  our  own 
great  river,  the  St.  Lawrence." 

Radisson  was  alone  on  this  voyage  of  dis- 
covery, "The  summer  I  went  a  hunting,"  he 
writes,^  "my  brother  stayed  where  he  was  wel- 
come and  put  up  a  great  deal  of  corne  that  was 
given  him."  But  this  inactive  life  of  his 
brother,  he  says,  brought  on  a  fit  of  sickness; 
and  some  pages  further  on  he  ends  his  account 
I  of  the  discovery  of  the  great  river  by  saying: 
"When  I  came  back  I  found  my  brother  sick 

(1)  Margry,  I,  54. 

(2)  Voyages,  158. 


22 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


as  I  said  before."'  That  this  fact  should  have 
heretofore  j^one  unnoticed  must  be  ascribed  to 
the  amazinj^ly  entanj^led  style  of  the  careless 
young  Frenchman. 

The   exploration  of  Radisson  was   fourteen 
years  prior  to  that  of  Marquette.      At  that  time 
there  was  no  mission,  not  even  another  white 
man  except  Groseilliers  west  of  the  Alleghan- 
ies.      Alone,   unaided,  with  no  resources  save 
his  own  skill  and  courage,  he   found  his  way] 
into  the  very  depths  of  the  wilderness  and  ex- 
plored the  great  river  a  thousand  miles  above 
the  point  reached  by  De  Soto  and  his  army  of] 
Spaniards.      Radisson  will  be  famous  when  his] 
achievement  is  understood. 

The  following  year  the   two   travellers   re- 
turned to  the  St.  Lawrence;  and  in  the  sum-] 
mer  of   1661   ;;et   out   on   a   new   exploration. 
This  time  they  proceeded  to  Lake  Superior  and 
skirted  its  southern  shore  until  they  reached 
Chequamegon  Bay;  tlience  they  went  five  days 
journey  in  a  south  cast  direction  to  the  village] 
of    the    Hurons.      These    unhappy    refugees, 
driven  westward  by  the  Iroquois,  had  settled, 
some  years  before,  c«,  an  island  in  the  Missis- 1 
sippi   above  Lake   Pepiff^   but  they  had  been 
forced  back  by  the  Sioux  and  had  now  found] 

(1)  Ibid.,  169. 


NICOLET  AND  RADISSOX. 


23 


uld  have 
cribed  to 
;  careless 

fourteen 
that  time 
ler  white 
\.lleghan- 
rces  save 

his  way] 
>  and  ex- 
les  above! 
5  army  of 
when  hisl 

filers  re- 
the  sum- 
loration. 
erior  and  I 

reached 
five  days 
e  village] 
refugees, 

settled, 
e  Missis- j 
lad  been 
)w  found 


a  second  asylum  in  the  dense  forests  around 
the  head  waters  of  the  Chippewa.'  Among 
this  poor  people,  the  travellers  were  received 
like  beings  from  another  planet.  There  were 
great  feastings  and  rejoicings  in  their  honor. 
"We  were  demi-gods,"  says  Radisson. 

But  soon  winter  set  in  with  an  extraordinary 
depth  of  snow.  The  Hurons,  an  agricultural 
people,  were  poor  hunters  at  best,  and  now 
hunting  was  impossible.  A  frightful  famine 
ensued.  The  wretched  refugees,  already  a 
dispirited  and  demoralized  people,  succumbed 
almost  without  an  effort  to  these  new  horrors. 
Their  only  food  was  the  bark  of  trees  or  vines 
and  old  beaver  skins  dug  out  from  the  filth  of 
their  cabins.  "  VVe  became  the  very  image  of 
death,"  writes  Radisson.  "Here  are  above 
500  dead,  men,  women  and  children." 

After  two  months  the  famine  ended  and  life 
became  less  forlorn.  Soon  the  travelers  were 
visited  by  a  large  body  of  the  Sioux  who  then 
occupied  Northwestern  Wisconsin  and  North- 


(1)  The  village  Avas  nearer  the  mouth  of  Montreal  river 
than  to  Chequaraegon  Bay  (Radisson,  Voyages,  193.)  It 
was  three  days  journey  from  Chequamegon  and  seven  or 
eiglit  from  Green  Bay.  (Tailhau  in  Penot.  Moeura  dea 
Sauvages,  240.)  It  was  near  a  little  lake  about  eight  leagues 
in  circuit.  <• 


24 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


iiil 


ern  Minnesota.  The  Sioux,  gathered  in  coun- 
cil, said  that  they  had  come  to  make  a  sacrifice 
to  the  French,  who  were  masters  of  all  things. 
They  asked  for  aid  against  their  enemies,  the 
Christinos,  and  pledged  themselves  to  fidelity 
even  unto  death.  Above  all,  they  begged  for 
guns.  "The  true  means  to  get  the  victory," 
they  said,   "was  to  have  a  thunder." 

The  two  explorers  soon  afterward  visited  the 
Sioux  in  their  Minnesota  homes  and  also  the 
Christinos,  living  to  the  northwest  of  La'":^ 
Superior.  Everywhere  they  were  welcomed 
with  that  delight  and  awe  which  always  char- 
acterized the  first  meeting  of  the  red  man  with 
the  white.  Finally,  late  in  the  summer  of 
1662,  they  returned  to  the  St.  Lawrence  with 
sixty  canoes  and  furs  to  the  value  of  200,000 
livres  —  the  well-earned  reward  of  splendid 
labors. 

But  the  governor  of  the  colony  was  bent 
upon  robbing  them.  Even  when  they  set  out 
on  their  second  journe}'-  of  exploration  they 
had  been  compelled,  in  order  to  escape  his  ex- 
tortions, to  slip  away  at  mid-night  like  crim- 
inals bent  upon  some  base  design.  His  rapacity 
was  now  greatly  increased  by  the  sight  of  their 
riches;  and  they,  becoming  tired  of  his  plun- 


NICOLET  AND  RADISSON. 


25 


dering,  fled  to  Boston  and  thence  sailed  for 
England.'  There  they  were  grandly  received, 
became  honored  guests  in  lordly  mansions, 
and  Radisson  married  the  daughter  of  Sir  John 
Kirk.  Ir  1667  the  two  explorers,  at  the  head 
of  an  English  expedition,  sailed  for  Hudson's 
Bay  and  established  trading  posts  there,  with 
the  design  of  drawing  the  rich  fur  trade  of  the 
Northwest  away  from  Canada.  They  thus  be- 
came the  founders  of  the  famous  Hudson's  Bay 

|Company. 

After  a  while,  having  quarreled  with  some 

lof  the  officers  of  the  company,  they  returned 
to  the  service  of  France,  and  in  1682  re- 
appeared at  Hudson's  Bay,  seized  an  English 
ship,  captured  their  former  associates  and 
raised  the  French  flag  over  Port  Nel.son. '  But  on 
their  return  to  Paris,  the  Elnglish  ambassador 
urgently  entreated  them  to  go  back  to  England. 
Radisson's  wife  was  still  there  and  the  two 
Frenchmen  were  soon  persuaded  ^  to  re-enter  the 
English  service.     In  1684,  they  again  sailed  for 


(1)  Colonie  Francaiae,  III,  311.  Lettre  de  Marie  d'  In- 
\carnation,  27  Aout,  1670.  Groseillier's  wife  and  chil- 
I  (hen  remained  in  Canada. 

(2)  Rapport  de  M.  de  Meules  an  Miniaire,  4  Nov.,  1683. 
Collection  de  Manuscripts  relatifs  a  la  Noutelle  France, 

I II,  302-4. 

(3)  Neill.    Minnesota,  Hiat.  Collections,  V.  414. 


26 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


Hudson's  Bay,  lowered  the  lilies  of  France  and 
hoisted  the  English  flag,  which  ever  since  hasj 
floated  over  half  the  continent. 

Radisson,    reviewing   these  many   changes,! 
stoutly  avers  that  he  does  not  **in  the  least! 
deserve  to  be  taxed  with  lightness  or  incon- 
stancy."'    It  matters  but  little:     French  des-l 
potism  and  an  English  wife  are  a  full  excuse 
for  all  such  aberrations.      This  gay,  rollicking 
Frenchman  was  a  wise,  brave,  honest  and  great 
man.      Few  careers  have  blended  so  much  of 
romance  and  solid  service  as  his.      The  discov- 
ery of  the  Mississippi,  the  first  exploration  of| 
Lake  Superior,   the   founding  of  a  vast  com- 
mercial enterprise  which  for  two  centuries  con- 1 
trolled  half  the  continent  —  how  many  among 
the  famous  have  done  so  much  as  this } 

(1)     Voyageit  of  Radisson,  ^.2^9.    Also  241  and  2';>-3. 


CHAPTER   11. 

GREEN   BAY   AND   THE   JESUIT   MISSIONS. 
1665-1672. 

The  ruin  of  the  Huron  missions  did  not 
cause  the  Jesuits  to  despair.  Their  first  failure 
served  only  to  open  before  them  a  wider  hori- 
zon of  duty,  just  as  the  night  reveals  what  the 
day  hides.  The  West  was  just  then  beginning 
to  rise  into  view,  and  towards  it  the  Jesuits 
turned  as  to  a  new  land  of  promise.  Thither 
they  were  also  called  by  their  duty  to  their 
Huron  and  other  converts  who,  wandering  about 
in  exile,  were  in  great  danger  of  being  wholly 
lost  to  the  fold. 

In  August  1660,  Father  Menard  set  out  for 
the  West,  and  after  frightful  sufferings  by  the 
way,  reached  a  settlement  of  the  Ottawas  at 
Keweenaw  Point,  on  Lake  Superior.'  These 
fugitive  Ottawas,  of  whom  we  shall  hear  much 
throughout  this  history,  were  now  in  the  low- 
est depth  of  savage  wretchedness.  They  had 
been  driven  from  their  old  homes  by  the  Iro- 
quois, and  the  steps  of  their  wandering  had  all 

(1)  Verivyst.  Miaeionary  Labors  of  Marquette,  Men' 
ard,  etc.,  176. 


m- 


28 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


wm\\ 

m 


m 


been  steps  downward.  Misery  had  brutalized 
them;  they  had  lost  that  self-respect  which 
formed  the  sole  basis  of  savage  virtues.  A 
year  after  Menard's  visit,  Radisson  met  them 
in  the  forests  of  Northern  Wisconsin;  and  he| 
describes  them,  as  "the  coursedst,  unablest, 
the  unfamous  and  cowarliest  people  that  I  have 
seen  among  four  score  nations  that  I  have 
frequented."' 

Their  treatment  of  Menard  was  most  in- 
human; they  mocked  at  his  teachings  and  at 
last  drove  him  from  their  cabins.  In  the  depth 
of  winter  he  was  forced  to  make  such  a  shelter 
as  he  could  out  of  a  few  pine  boughs.  There 
amidst  winter  blasts,  snow-storms  and  the  in- 
tensest  cold  —  half  famished  too,  with  no  food 
but  acorns,  bark  and  vile  refuse  —  this  feeble 
old  man  crouched  from  day  to  day,  a  living 
martyr. 

Still  this  marvellous  man  did  not  murmur. 
"I  can  truly  say,"  he  wrote,  "that  I  have 
more  contentment  here  in  one  day  than  I  have 
enjoyed  in  all  my  life  in  whatsoever  part  of  the 
world  I  have  been."^ 

The  next  June  he  started  to  establish  a  mis- 
sion among  the  Hurons  who,  as  we  have  seen, 

(1)  Voyages,  203. 

{2)  Relation,  1664,  p.  6. 


I 


GREEN  BAY -JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


29 


[had  found  a  refuge  on  the  head-waters  of  the 
IChippewa.  On  the  way  he  was  deserted  by 
Ihis  guides,  but  he  pressed  on  until  he  had 
Ircached  a  point  not  very  far  distant  from  the 
Huron  village.  There  he  perished  in  the  wil- 
Idcrness.  The  precise  manner  of  his  death  has 
never  been  known.  But  in  some  way  or  other 
(the  old  missionary  gained  his  coveted  crown  of 
Imartyrdom, 

iMenard  was  thus  Wisconsin's  first  missionary 
land  her  first  martyr.  In  1665  Allouez  was  sent 
to  take  his  place;  but  in  the  meantime  the 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  hc^d  removed  from  the 
interior  v/ilds  to  the  head  of  Chequamegon 
Bay.  Thither  Allouez  repaired,  built  a  rude 
bark  chapel  and  established  the  first  mission  in 
jWisconsin. 

This  place,  where  Radisson  in  1661  had 
jfound  only  a  solitude,  had  now  become  a  ren- 
dezvous for  the  nations  on  the  West.  The 
Hurons  and  Ottawas  had  come  first,  attracted 
by  the  abundant  fisheries  and  the  opportuni- 
ties for  traffic.  Other  tribes  had  followed, 
some  coming  to  trade  and  to  fish,  others  as 
fugitives  from  the  fury  of  the  Iroquois  who 
were  then  invading  the  West.  Here  were 
crowds  of  Sauks,  Pottawattamies,  Foxes  and 
other  tribes  from  Eastern  Wisconsin  as  well  as 


■'•'I- 


•^&5f' 


30 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


:i 


iil'lil 
lit 


large    numbers    of    the    dispersed   and   panic- 
stricken    Illinois.      "It   is  the  center,"  writes! 
Allouez,   ''of  all  the  nations  of  that  country." 
Amidst     these     animated     scenes,    Allouez 
labored  with  ardor,  but  with  uncertain  success.] 
He  himself  was  sanguine.     "God,"  he  affirms' 
"found  some  of  his  Elect  in  every  tribe  while! 
they  were  held  here  by  fear  of  the  Iroquois."] 
The    illustrious    Marquette,  who    came    after- 
wards, expressed  himself  less  hopefully.      Butj 
the  work,  whatever  its  value,  was  soon  ended. 
The    Iroquois,   exhausted    by    constant    fight-j 
ing  and  curbed  by  the  power  of  the  French, 
ceased  their  invasions  and  the  Western  Indians! 
returned   to    their    homes.      The   Hurons   and 
Ottawas  remained,  but  in  1670  the  Sioux  drove 
them  eastward  just  as  the  Iroquois,  a  few  years] 
before,  had  driven  them  westward.      The  mis- 
sionaries followed  their  flock  to  the  shore  ofj 
Lake  Huron.      The  short  life  of  the  mission  ofl 
St.  Esprit  was  over  and   Northern  Wisconsin] 
was  once  more  a  solitude. 


r" 


It  has  long  been  noticed  that  there  was  a  re- 
markable massing  of  Indian  tribes  along  Greenj 
Bay  and  Fox   river,  in  Wisconsin.      But   howl 
great  was  this  massing  and  how  utter  the  con- 


(1)  Relation,  1667,  p.  18. 


GREEN  BAY— JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


31 


nd  panic- 
T,"  writes! 
country." 
,    Allouez 
n  success, 
le  affirms'l 
ribe  while 
Iroquois." 
me    after- 
lily.      But 
on  ended.  I 
ant    fight- 
2  French,! 
rn  Indians! 
irons   and 
DUX  drove! 
few  years] 
The  mis- 
shore  ofl 
■nission  ofl 
A^isconsin 


was  a  ra- 
ng Green 
But   howl 
the  con- 


trast between  it  and  the  desolation  that  about 
I1670,  reigned  everywhere  else  between  the 
illeghanies  and  the  Upper  Mississippi  —  has, 
50  far  as  I  know,  never  been  pointed  out. 

When  Marquette  and  Joliet  journeyed  down 
the  Mississippi  in  1673,  they  traveled  almost 
the  entire  distance  through  an  unbroken  soli- 
tude. They  met,  indeed,  one  demoralized 
)and  of  the  Illinois  who  had  fled  from  their 
lomes  and  were  tempoi  irily  encamped  near 
the  Mississippi,  on  its  western  side.  But  with 
this  exception,  in  the  long  journey  from  the 
Wisconsin  portage  down  to  a  great  distance 
)elow  the  mouth  of  the  Ohio  —  more  than  a 
thousand  miles  through  the  fairest  portion  of 
the  continent  —  the  travelers  beheld  only  a 
tenantless  waste,  an  unpeopled  Paradise. 

The  great  expanse  stretching  from  the  Mis- 
sissippi, eastwardly,  to  the  mountains,  was  vir- 
tually in  the  same  condition.  The  Eries,  who 
lad  inhabited  the  present  state  of  Ohio,  had 
)een  swept  from  the  earth  by  the  Iroquois, 
^lichigan  was  also  a  solitude,  except  its  north- 
ern part,  where  the  Ottawa  refugees  and  some 
)f  the  Chippewas  had  gathered  around  the 
5traits  of  Mackinaw  and  upon  the  shore  of 
.ake  Superior;  its  southern  part  had  been 
)ccupied  by  the  Mascoutins,  but  the  most  of 


32 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


them  had  been  destroyed  by  the  Neutral  na- 
tion and  the  rest  driven  to  their  kindred  in 
Wisconsin.'  Indiana  had  been  the  home  of! 
the  Miamis,  and  a  part  of  them  were  still 
roaming  there;  but  the  main  body  with  the 
king  of  the  confederacy  at  their  head  had  emi- 
grated to  Fox  river.  Illinois  was  also  a  soli- 
tude, its  former  denizens  having  fled  across  the 
Mississippi,  leaving  their  broad  prairies, 
crowded  with  buffalo  and  game  of  every  kind, 
as  a  hunting  ground  for  the  Wisconsin  Indians. 
In  Kentucky  a  few  hundred  Shawanoes  roamed 
along  the  banks  of  the  Ohio."*  In  fine,  the  six 
states  lying  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  north 
of  the  Ohio  —  excluding  Northeastern  Wis- 
consin—  contained  a  population  in  1670,  of 
less  than  twelve  hundred  warriors  or  eight 
thousand  souls.  There  were  three  hundred 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  rich  in  soil 
and  in  all  things  that  contribute  to  human  pros- 

(1)  Lalcmant.  Relation  des  Hurons,  1644.  On  Sanson's 
map  they  are  placed  in  Southern  Michigan.  Farkman, 
Jesuits,  436.     Note. 

(2)  La  Salle,  in  1682,  counted  the  Shawanoes  as  200  war- 
riors. Parkraan,  La  Salle,  296.  I  have  estimated  the 
Ottawas  and  Chippewas  in  Northern  Michigan  at  500  war- 
riors —  a  very  large  estimate,  as  most  of  the  Chippewas 
were  then  wanderers  on  the  north  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 
The  Miamis  remaining  in  their  old  home,  I  have  put  at  500 
warriors  —  also  a  large  estimate. 


i 


^^^■.. ■•■■•'■'"' ■^•-  ■-■ 


GREEN  BAY— JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


33 


)crity;    and   yet    this    immense   expanse    was 
virtually  a  solitude.  -      .  , 

Turning  now  to  Northeastern  Wisconsin  we 

)ehold  a  wonderful  contrast.      Stretched  along 

)oth  sides  of  Green  Bay  and  the  Fox  river  as 

|ar  south  as  Green  Lake  county  was   a   terri- 

lory  about   one   hundred  and  thirty-five  miles 

Jong  and  of  an  average  width  of  thirty  miles, 

hich  fairly  teemed  with  human  life.     In  the 

[orth,  on  the  islands  and  along  the  eastern 

[here  of  Green  Bay,  were  the  Pottawattamies, 

docile  people,  with  a  keen  instinct  for  trade, 

Ivho  were  seeking  to   become   the   middlemen 

|n  the  commerce  between  the  French  and  the 

fribes  farther  west;  they   numbered  not   less 

[han  five  hundred  warriors.'     Across  the  bay 

^ere  the  Menominees  settled  upon  the  river  of 

[he  same  name,  a  brave  but  peaceful  people  — 

"very  fine  men,"  writes  Charlevoix,'  "the  best 

[haped  in  all  Canada."     At  the  mouth  of  Fox 

fiver  was  a  mixed  village  gathered  from  four 


(1)  AUouez.    Relation,  1667, — narrates  a  visit   of  300 
[)f  these  warriors  to  Chequamegon  Bay. 

(2)  Charlevoix,  Letters,  XIX.  202.     Cadillac  {Memoire  in 
(argry,  V,  121)  is  still  more  eulogistic.    They  were  long 

|it  war  with  the  Chippewas,  but  in  the  time  of  the  French  al- 
lost  unifoi'mly  peaceable.    Schoolcraft,  Indian  Tribes,  I, 

fOi,  and  Shea,  Indian  Tribes  of  Wisconsin,  Wis.  Hist. 
Ml,  III,  134. 


34 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


or  five  different  tribes;  a  little  distance  up  the 
river  were  the  Winnebagoes  or   "Men  of  the 
Sea,"  of  whom  we  have  already  heard.      The 
number  of  the  Winnebagoes,  the  Menominees 
and  the  people  of  the  mixed  village  could  not 
have  been  less  than  six  hundred  warriors. '     On 
the  west  side  of  the  river,  about  four  leagues 
from  its  mouth  were  the  Sauks,  who  must  have| 
numbered  at  least  four  hundred  fighting  men.' 
Passing  through   Lake    Winnebago   to  the  I 
Upper  Fox  and  its  tributary  the  Wolf,  we  come 
to  that  famous  gathering  of  tribes  that  were  to 
bring  such  disaster  upon  the  French  Empire  in 
the  West.     Some  distance  up  the  Wolf  river  | 
were  the  Foxes,  with  not  less  than  eight  hun- 

(1)  No  estimate  of  the  numbers  either  of  the  Menominees  I 
or  Winnebagoes  is  given  in  the  17th  century.    But  in  a 
Memoir  of  1736  {New  York  Col.  Documents,  IX,)  the  Men- 
ominees are  numbered  at  160  warriors.    But  this  Memoir 
is  uniformly  low  in  its  estimates.    Even  the  Iroquois  are 
there  counted  as  only  850  and  the  Illinois  at  600,  and  the 
Miamis  at  550;  the  real  numbers,  excepting  those  of  the  Il- 
linois were  perhaps  twice  a&  large.    In  this  Memoir  the  I 
Winnebagos  are  put  at  only  80  wan-iors;  but  this  was  after  I 
they  had  been  decimated  by  famine  and  expelled  from  the! 
state;  in  1640  their  great  numbers  are  spoken  of  (Margryl 
1, 48).    I  have  for  these  reasons  increased  the  French  estl- 1 
mate  of  1736  by  50  per  cent,  for  1670. 

(2)  In  the  Memoir  of  1736  they  are  put  at  150  warriors  — I 
a  low  estimate  even  for  that  time,  and  then  they  had  been 
decimated  by  the  Fox  wars.    In  1763  Lieut.  Gorrel  put] 
them  at  350,  as  also  Foxes.     Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  I,  32, 


GREEN  BAY— JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


35 


up  the 
of  the 
.  The 
rninees 
uld  not 
;.'  On 
leagues 
St  have 
J  men.' 
to  the 
^e  cornel 
were  to 
ipire  in 
f  river 
It  hun- 

lominees 
But  in  a  I 
;he  Men- 
Memoir  I 
[juois  are 
,  and  the 
of  tiiell- 
moir  the 
was  after 
from  the 
Margry^  | 
nch  esti- 

irrioi'8  — I 
lad  been 
)rrel  put| 
2. 


dred  warriors. '  To  the  southwest  of  these,  on 
the  Fox  river,  was  the  great  palisaded  town 
where  the  Mascoutins  and  Miamis  dwelt  to- 
gether in  barbaric  friendliness;  farther  on,  en- 
veloped in  the  wild  rice  marshes,  were  other 
towns  of  the  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins;  all 
these  tribes  together  could  not  have  numbered 
less  than  the  Foxes." 

Here  then  in  this  narrow  strip  of  territory- 
was  a  population  of  thirty-one  hundred  war- 
riors or  at  least  twenty  thousand  souls,  nearly 
three  times  the  number  that  roamed  in  the  vast 
expanse  of  surrounding  solitude.  It  was  like 
an  oasis  in  a  desert. 

What  caused  this  wonderful  massing  of 
tribes.^  In  the  first  place,  the  land  was  excep- 
tionally rich  in  all  essentials  of  barbaric  plenty. 
Charlevoix    declared    that    it  was    "the  most 


(1)  Relation,  1667,  estimated  the  B'oxesat  1,000  warrioi-s. 

I  Relation  of  1670  at  400,  on  the  first,  hasty  inspection.  But 
the  next  year  they  are  said  to  have  200  cabins,  each  con- 
taining five  or  ten  families;  so  that  the  estimate  of  1667 
must  have  been  nearer  right  than  that  of  1670.    All  the 

I  facts  of  their  subsequent  history  also  con'oborate  this. 

(2)  Perrot,  MoBura  des  Sauvagea,  p.  127,  puts  population 
I  of  chief  town  of  Mascoutins  and  Miamis  at  4,000  souls.  AU 

louez,  Relation,  1670,  at  more  than  3,000,  at  another  time  at 
1 800  warriors.    In  the  Narrative  of  Occurrences,  1695,  New 

York  Coll.  Docts.,  IX,  608.  Frontenac  puts  the  Foxes,  Mas- 
[  coutins  and  Kiclcapoos  at  1,500  warriors.    This  does  not 

include  the  Miamis,  so  that  my  estimate  is  very  low. 


P'l 


36 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


■  ii 


charming  country  in  the  world."'  The  lakes 
and  rivers  were  full  of  fish  and  the  forest  of| 
game;  fuel  was  plenty;  the  soil  was  easy  to  till 
and  yielded  richly.  But  the  crowning  attrac- 
tion, doubtless,  was  the  wild  rice  marshes, 
offerijig  an  abundant  harvest  without  any  labor  I 
save  that  of  gathering  it  in  the  autumn.  There  | 
indeed,  was  the  Indian  Utopia. 

Secondly,  all  the  population  excepting  the  I 
Winnebagos  were  of  the  Algonquin  stock  and 
they  were  here  admirably  sheltered  from  the 
two  great  foes  of  their  race,  the  Iroquois  on 
the  Kast,  and  the    Sioux   or  Dakotas  on   the 
West.      The    approach    on    the    one   side  was 
guarded  by  a  great  lake  and  the  bristling  rapids] 
of  Fox  river;  on  the  other  side,  were  impass- 
able   swamps,  deep    forests    and    the  winding! 
mazes  of  a  river  enveloped  in  marshes.     Thusl 
this  region  offered  peace  as  well  as  plenty  to  itsi 
inhabitants.     "  It  is  a  terrestial  Paradise, "  wrotel 
Dablon;   **but  the  way  to  it  is  as  difficult  asl 
the  way  to  heaven."     Savages,  at  least,  couldl 
desire  nothing  beyond  that  —  a  paradise  safely| 
locked  from  one's  enemies. 

The  great  gathering  of  the  tribes  alongl 
Green  Bay  and  Fox  river  is  thus  easily  ex-| 
plained.     Consider  now  the  commanding  po- 

(1)  Lettrea,  XIX,  203. 


QREEN  BAY— JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


17 


sition  occupied  by  this  region  between  the 
Great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  makinej  it 
virtually  the  key  to  the  interior  of  the  conti- 
nent. Thus  we  already  begin  to  understand 
why  Wisconsin  was  to  become  the  focus  of  the 
French  struggle  for  supremacy  in  the  West. 


The  instability  of  the  mission  at  Chequame- 
gon  Bay  had  been  manifest  for  some  time  be- 
fore the  final  collapse;  and  the  Jesuits  had 
eagerly  sought  for  some  more  permanent 
foundation  on  which  to  build.  They  were 
spurred  on  to  such  a  work  by  the  rising  hostil- 
ity against  their  order.  Their  prestige  had 
greatly  waned  and  many  of  the  colonists  were 
rebelling  against  their  rigid  rule.  "For  more 
than  thirty  years, "  writes  Le  Clerc, '  '  *  they  have 
complained  in  Canada  of  the  hampering  of  their 
consciences."  The  Jesuit  missions  which  had 
once  set  all  France  aflame  with  enthusiasm, 
began  to  be  sharply  criticised.  Talon,  the  in- 
tendant  of  Canada,  wrote  to  Colbert:  *'I  have 
reproached  the  Jesuits  as  courteously  as  pos- 
sible with  paying  too  little  attention  to  the 
civilizing  and  education  of  the  savages. "-  Stung 
by  such  reproaches  and  by  still  graver  charges, 

(1)  Le  Clerc,  Etablissement  de  la  Foi,  II,  84. 

(2)  Margry,  I,  79. 


38 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


the  disciples  of  Loyola  sought  for  a  new  field 
where  they  might  establish  themselves  firmly 
and  reconstruct  society  according  to  the  ideals! 
of  Jesuitism.      Their  choice,  almost  inevitably,] 
fell  upon  the  Green  Bay  region. 

Allouez  was  sent  to  make  a  beginning.      Inl 
December,    1669,    he    landed  at  the  head  of) 
Green   Bay,    spent  the  winter   in  the   vicinity 
and  the  next  spring  ascended  the  river  to  visitl 
the  Foxes  and  Mascoutins.      Returning  to  thel 
Bay   he   was   joined  in  September  by  DablonJ 
the    Superior    of   the    Jesuit    missions    on  thel 
lakes.      Having  established  the  mission  of  St. 
Francois  Xavier,  the  two  Fathers  went  to  laborl 
among    the    Mascoutins.       The    journey    over| 
the  Fox  rapids  was   arduous.      "But  as   a   re- 
compense   for    all     our    difficulties,"     Dablonl 
writes,   "we  enter  the  most   beautiful  eountry 
that   ever   was   seen;    prairies  on  all   sides  as 
far  as  the  eye   can  reach,     divided   by   a  riverl 
which     gently  flows    through    them,    and  on 
which  to  float  by  rowing  is   to   repose    one's! 
self;    there    are   forests   of  elms,    oaks,     etc.; 
vines,    plum-trees,   apple-trees    are  in  abund- 
ance and   seem  by  their   appearance  to  invitel 
the  traveller  to  disembark  and  taste  of  their 
fruits,"     They   saw   also  great  clouds  of  wild- 
fowl floating  over  the  harvest  of  wild-rice  that| 


GREEN  BAY— JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


39 


[lined  the  river  on  either  side.      And   game  of 

levery  kind   was  so  plentiful   that  it  could  be 

Ikilled  almost  without  an  effort.' 

Paddling  through  this  savage  elysium,  they 

Ireached  the  chief  abode  of  the  Mascoutins.  It 
was  a  palisaded  town  standing  on  the  crown  of 
a  l/Ul  about  a  league  from  the  river  bank; 
while  all  around  the  prairie   stretched   beyond 

I  the  sight,  interspersed  with  groves  and  belts 
of    tall    forest.       The     Mascoutins    with    the 

j  characteristic  hospitality  of  the  red  man,  had 
received  the  fugitive  Miamis  into  their  town. 
They  had  even  accepted  the  Miami  king  as 
their  ruler;  and  this  potentate  guarded  day 
and  night  by  a  band  of  armed  warriors,  reigned 
over  all  with  a  pomp  quite  unparalleled  in 
Indian  politics. 

On  his  previous  visit  Allouez  had  been  re- 
ceived like  one  from  the  clouds, ''and  the  rever- 
ence of  the  savages  now  was  not  abated.  They 
listened  with  open  ears,  beset  him  night  and 
day  with  questions,  invited  him  and  the  Father 
Superior  to  unceasing  feasts.  Some  were  bap- 
tized. A  cross  was  planted  in  the  midst  of 
the  town,  and  three  years  afterward  Marquette 
saw    it    still    standing,   decorated  with  deer- 

{\)  Relation,  Hi7l,  p.  i•^-i4. 
{2)  Relation,  U70,2i.  lOi). 


40 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


skins,   red-girdles,    and   other  offerings  to  the| 
Great  Manitou  of  the  French. 

But  the  Foxes    were    not    so    complaisant.l 
On  his  first  visit  to  their  town  on  Wolf  river, 
Allouez  had  been  extremely  horrified.      *  *  Theyl 
are  a  nation,"  he  grimly  observes,   "renowned 
for  being  numerous;    each  man  commonly  has 
four  wives,    some   six   and   others   ten."     Thel 
Foxes,   on  their  part,   "had  had  a  very   poorl 
opinion  of  the  French  ever  since   two   traders 
in  beaver    skins   had  appeared  among  them."| 
Towards  the   new  faith   they  maintained  a  ju- 
dicial   reserve.       "They    allow  the    majesty! 
and  unity  of  God,"  Allouez  writes;     "of  thel 
"rest   they  say   not  a  word,"     An  old  man, 
the  grand  chief  of  the  Foxes,  thanked  the  mis- 
sionary for  his  visit.      "But  as  for  these  other  I 
things,"  he  continued,   "we  have  no  leisure  to  I 
speak;    we    are    occupied    in    bewailing    ouri 
dead."' 

On  the  second  visit   the   Foxes   proved  still  I 
more  obdurate.      The  year  before  some  of  their 
number  had  visited  Montreal,   and  there  had 
been  shamefully  abused  by  the  soldiery;"  and 
"now  they  were  determined  to  avenge  them- 

(1)  Ibid.,  p.  98. 

(2)  Falllon.  Colonic  Francaise,  III,  392.  A  vivid  picture  of  | 
the  brutality  of  the  soldiery.     The  Indians  were  often  mur- 
dered for  their  fnrs,  on  their  visits  to  Montreal. 


GREEN  BAY— JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


41 


selves  for  the  bad  treatment  they  had  re- 
ceived in  the  French  settlements."  But  Al- 
louez  armed  himself  with  patience  and  with  all 
the  arts  of  Jesuitic  wisdom.  He  exhibited 
highly  colored  paintings  of  judgment  and  eter- 
nal flames.  "The  parents,"  he  remarks, 
"were  happy  to  see  their  baptized  children  at 
the  top  of  the  picture,  while  they  were  horri- 
fied to  behold  the  torments  of  the  devils  at  the 
foot." 

In  another  way  the  missionary  availed  him- 
self of  that  master  passion  in  the  Indian's  heart, 
his  love  of  his  children.  With  soft  blandish- 
ments, Allouez  first  won  the  children  to  his 
side.  "He  sang  to  them  spiritual  songs  with 
French  airs  which  pleased  them  and  their 
parents  immensely.  Then  he  composed  cer- 
tain canticles  against  the  superstitions  and 
vices  most  opposed  to  Christ.  These  he  taught 
to  the  children  by  the  sound  of  a  soft  lute,  and 
went  about  the  village  with  his  little  savage 
musicians,  declaring  war  against  the  jugglers, 
the  dreamers  and  those  with  many  wives. 
And  because  the  savages,  passionately  loved 
their  children  and  suffered  everything  from 
them,  they  permitted  the  biting  reproaches 
which  were  made  against  them  by  these  songs."' 

(1)  Relation,  1672,  p.  39-40. 


m 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


Gradually  the  Foxes  succumbed.  Sixty 
children  and  some  adults  were  baptized;  the 
whole  village  learned  to  make  the  sign  of  the 
cross.  All  revered  the  black-robed  stranger 
as  at  least  a  mighty  magician  armed  with  a 
mysterious  power,  and  possessed  of  more  po- 
tent spells  than  had  ever  before  been  witnessed 
in  the  wilderness.  One  day  a  war-party  were 
so  wrought  upon  by  the  harangues  of  Allouez, 
that  they  daubed  the  figure  of  a  cross  upon 
their  shields  of  bull-hide,  before  going  to 
battle;  they  returned  victorious,  extolling  the 
sacred  symbol  as  the  greatest  of  "war-medi- 
cines." This  test  convinced  multitudes.  It  is 
the  first  recorded  attempt  to  apply  the  scien- 
tific method  to  the  verifying  of  religious  truth. 

The  Jesuits  rejoiced.  "We  have  good 
hope"  they  said,  "that  we  shall  soon  carry 
our  faith  to  the  famous  river  called  the  Mis- 
sissippi and  perhaps  even  to  the  South  Sea." 
The  missionaries  had  found  favor  in  the  eyes 
of  all  the  tribes  and  a  firm  foothold  had  been 
gained  amidst  the  only  permanent  population 
east  of  the  great  river.  A  central  mission  had 
been  established  at  De  Pere,  five  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  the  Fox,  with  outlying  stations 
among  the  various  tribes.  To  be  sure  it  was 
but  a  beginning;  the  central  chapel  was  as  yet 


GREEN  BAY— JESUIT  MISSIONS. 


43 


but  a  flimsy  structure  of  bark.  But  as  Dablon 
had  said,  "the  way  to  heaven  is  as  open 
through  a  roof  of  bark  as  through  a  roof  of 
gold  and  silver. " 

Five  years  later  a  more  substantial  church 
was  built,  and  within  the  palisaded  enclosure 
of  the  mission  were  also  dwellings,  work- 
shops and  store-houses.  Besides  the  two  mis- 
sionaries Allouez  and  Andre,  there  were  also 
lay  brothers  'and  hired  workmen,  some  em- 
ployed in  building,  hunting,  fishing,  clearing 
and  tilling  the  soil,  others  as  blacksmiths, 
gunsmiths,  and  it  would  seem  that  there  was 
even  a  silversmith  there.  "^  The  western  trad- 
ers also,  made  the  mission  their  rendezvous 
and  stored  their  furs  within  its  stockade.  The 
scene  was  a  rude  and  rough  one,  but  the  ar- 
dent missionaries  saw  in  it  the  nucleus  of  a 
new  Paraguay  —  another  Jesuit  empire  rising 
in  the  wilds  of  North  America. 

(1)  Margr>',  11,251. 

(2)  Butler,  Early  Historic  Relics,  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  VII. 
295. 


CHAPTER  III. 


LA  SALLE  AND  THE  COUREURS  DE  BOIS. 
1672  —  1683. 

A  little  while  after  the  establishment  of  the 
mission  at  Green  Bay,  Frontenac  became  gov- 
ernor of  New  France.  The  new  governor 
seems  to  have  set  his  heart  chiefly  upon  two 
things:  the  one  to  harry  the  Jesuits,  the 
other  to  monopolize  for  himself,  so  far  as  pos- 
sible, the  fur-trade  of  the  West.  ''With  the 
Jesuits,"  he  declared, '  *'the  conversion  of  souls 
is  but  a  pious  phrase  for  trading  in  beaver- 
skins;"  and  in  another  dispatch  he  affirmed,  =• 
"that  the  most  of  their  missions  are  pure  mock- 
eries." As  for  the  fur-trade,  in  order  to  mo- 
nopolize that,  he  made  use  of  several  agents  or 
secret  partners,  chief  among  whom  was  the 
celebrated  La  Salle. 

Upon  La  Salle's  career  we  wish  to  dwell 
only  so  far  as  it  pertains  to  the  history  of  Wis- 
consin. But  such  a  glamour  of  romance  has 
been  thrown  around  his  name  by -his  impas- 
sioned admirers  and  his  real  relation  to  West- 
CD  Frontenac  a  Colbert,  Nov.  2,  1672.  Margry,  I,  248. 
(2)  Ibid.,  Nov.  14,  1C74.     Ibid.,  250. 


LA  SALLE—  COUREURS  DE  BOIS. 


45 


crn  affairs  has  been  so  thoroughly  misunder- 
stood that  our  research  must  take  a  rather  wide 
range. 

La  Salle  was  a  fit  agent  for  such  a  man  as 
Frontenac.  He  was  bold,  unscrupulous,  ready 
for  anything  that  could  help  on  his  schemes. 
In  hatred  of  the  Jesuits,  he  surpassed  even  his 
master.  La  Salle's  soul  was  surcharged  with 
suspicions  of  everybody,  but  especially  of  the 
missionaries.  Imaginary  Jesuits  dogged  his 
footsteps  everywhere;  they  tried  to  seduce  him 
from  the  path  of  chastity;  they  encouraged  his 
men  to  desert,  soured  the  minds  of  the  sav- 
ages against  him,  thwarted  his  enterprises 
and  plotted  against  his  life.' 

It  is  not  worth  our  while  to  inquire  what 
basis  of  fact  may  have  underlain  these  dreams 
of  a  disordered  fancy.  Humanity  is  sinful; 
and  the  Jesuits,  it  must  be  confessed,  were 
human. 

All  of  La  Salle's  hatred  of  the  Jesuits  con- 
verged upon  the  mission  at  Green  Bay.  He 
claimed  for  himself  nearly  the  whole  Missis- 
sippi valley  by  virtue  of  his  alleged  discover- 
ies; but  he  laid  special  stress  upon  the  right  to 
the  Wisconsin  river.  He  had  even  protested 
against   Du  Lhut's — who  was   another  secret 

U)  Paikman,  La  Salle,  101-7. 


m 


46 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


partner  of  Frontenac  —  going  by  that  route  to 
trade  with  the  Sioux.  "If  they  go  by  the  way 
of  the  Wisconsin  where  I  have  founded  an  es- 
tablishment," he  wrote,'  "they  will  ruin  the 
trade,  which  is  my  chief  reliance."  Therefore 
he  was  madly  jealous  of  the  mission  at  Green 
Bay  through  which  the  Jesuits  controlled  the 
chief  water-way  to  the  West  and  were  seeking 
to  build  up  a  rival  empire  to  his  own,  "They 
hold  the  key  to  the  beaver-country,"  he  for- 
lornly complained. 

What  rendered  La  Salle  still  more  jealous 
was  the  fact  that  his  own  vast  claims  were  ut- 
terly baseless.  The  only  domain  that  he  could 
really  claim,  by  right  of  discovery,  was  the 
region  of  the  Mississippi  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Arkansas;  and  even  that  had  been  explored 
by  the  Spaniards  more  than  a  century  before. 
To  show  any  color .  of  right  to  the  country 
north  of  the  Arkansas,  he  was  driven  to  the 
most  enormous  fabrications. 

In  an  account  of  La  Salle's  explorations  writ- 
ten by  a  nameless  friend  of  his  and  taken  from 
his  own  lips,  it  is  asserted  that  he  made  two 
journeys  in  1669-71;  the  one  down  the  Ohio 
nearly  to  its  mouth,  the  other  down  the  Illinois 
to  the  Mississippi  and  beyond.     The  story  of 

(1)  Margry,  II,  251. 


LA  SALLE— C0UREUR8  DE  BOIS. 


47 


the  last  journey  is  now  coldly  dismissed  as 
fali^e  even  by  La  Salle's  most  rapt  admirer. 
But  the  claim  to  the  discovery  of  the  Ohio  has 
heretofore  gone  unchallenged. 

La  Salle's  own  statement  deserves  no  credit; 
for  since  one  part  of  his  story  is  confessedly 
false,  the  maxim,  falsus  in  uno,  must  prevail. 
His  claim,  however,  has  seemed  to  have  a  real 
support  in  Joliet's  map  of  1674,  on  which  the 
Ohio  is  laid  down  with  an  inscription  to  the 
effect  that  it  had  been  explored  by  La  Salle. 
But  a  closer  scrutiny  reveals  that  the  route  of 
La  Salle  has  been  drawn  by  a  later  hand,  after 
the  map  was  finished.'  The  only  support 
therefore  vanishes.  And  in  a  note  below  I 
have  given  some  additional  reasons  for  believ- 
ing that  La  Salle's  discovery  of  the  Ohio  was 
but  another  invention  of  his  own  unscrupulous 
brain.' 


(1)  Winsor,  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of  America, 
IV,  215.  "  The  route  of  La  Salle  is  seemingly  drawn  by  a 
later  hand  and  the  stream  is  without  the  coloring  given  to 
the  other  rivers.  In  its  course,  too,  it  runs  athwart  the 
vignette  surrounding  the  scale  at  the  bottom  of  the  map 
as  if  added  after  that  was  made." 

(2)  The  account  given  both  in  the  Paris  memoir  and  in 
that  to  Frontenac  is  so  absurdly  incorrect  as  to  prove  that 
La  Salle  was  only  repeating  repoits  gathered  from  the 
Iroquois  amongst  whom  he  wintered  in  1669.  The  rapids 
at  Louisville  described  as  a  very  high  fall  and  the  great 


48 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


Claiming  almost  the  whole  West  by  virtue 
of  these  pretended  discoveries,  La  Salle  in  1682 
began  to  entrench  himself  on  Rock  St.  Louis 
by  the  side  of  the  Illinois  river.  In  his  wooden 
castle,  on  this  formidable  cliff,  he  was  to  reign 
as  a  feudal  lord  over  half  a  continent,  gather- 
ing the  Western  savages  around  him  as  his 
vassals.  Wisconsin  and  the  whole  Upper  Mis- 
sissippi region  were  to  become  tributary  to  his 


error  as  to  their  location,  the  "very  large  river"  from 
the  north  flowing  into  the  Ohio  above  the  fall  and  the 
marshy  country  in  which  tne  river  sinks  and  is  lost  below 
the  fall,  the  six  or  seven  leagues  that  separate  Lake  Erie 
from  the  Ohio,  the  twenty-four  men  who  desert  and  flee 
some  to  New  England  and  some  to  New  Holland — it  is 
wonderful  that  so  many  blunders  and  absurdities  could  be 
crowded  into  fifteen  lines. — Parkman,  La  Salle,  23-4,  gives 
both  accotmtb  without  suspicion. 

Perrot  {Moeura  dea  Sanvages,  119-120,)  says  that  in  the 
sumi  er  of  1670,  he  met  La  Salle  hunting  on  the  Ottawa 
with  a  party  of  Iroquois.  The  account  states  that  La  Salle 
separated  from  the  priests,  Sept.  30,  1669,  being  then  sick 
of  a  fever,  made  a  visit  to  the  Onondagas,  thence  made  an 
exploring  trip  to  the  Ohio  and  return,  of  800  leagues.  Who 
can  believe  that  all  this  took  place  in  time  for  La  Salle  to 
go  far  north  on  the  Ottawa  for  a  leisurely  summer  hunt? 

The  manner  of  putting  forth  this  claim — the  long  silence, 
the  sudden  assertion  in  1677  and  1678,  the  subsequent 
silence— is  proof  enough.  In  the  Relation  des  Decouvertea, 
1681,  it  is  stated  that  a  violent  fever  obliged  him  to  quit 
the  priests  at  the  beginning  of  their  explorations,  and 
there  is  not  a  hint  of  any  subsequent  journey  of  his  own 
to  the  Ohio.— (Margry,  if,  436. 


m 


LA  SALLE— COUREURS  DE  BOIS. 


49 


Imbition;  the  Jesuits  at  Green  Hay  were  to  be 
Ihcckmated  in  their  evil  designs.  "La  Salle 
leeps  in  the  background,"  Frontenac's  succesor 
,'rote  to  the  Minister,  "with  the  idea  of  at- 
racting  the  inhabitants  to  him  and  building 
|p  an  imaginary  kingdom  for  himself  by  de- 
lauching  all  the  bankrupts  and  idlers  of  this 
jountry." 

The  scheme,  according  to  his  own  assertions, 

[rospered  wonderfully.      In  a  memorial  to  the 

[ing,  he  reports   the   number  of   Indians   col- 

icted  around  Rock  St.  Louis  at  four  thousand 

,'arriors,  or  more  than  twenty  thousand  souls. 

^his  great  concourse  of  savages  had  fled  to  him 

)r  protection;    organized   by  his   genius   and 

Ibedient   to   his   will,   they  formed   a   mighty 

jarricr  to  any  future  invasions  of  the  West  by 

le  Iroquois.      "The  diplomacy  of  La  Salle," 

,'rites   his    eloquent    panegyrist,    "had    been 

Irowned  with  a  marvelous  success."'  • 

But   La  Salle's   claim   is   wholly  fraudulent, 

|nd  the  only  marvel  about  it  is,  that  the  fraud 

lould  have  gone  so  long  undetected. 

In  Franquelin's  map  of   1684,  the  colony  is 

lid  down  in  detail,  the  different  villages  lo- 

lated  and  the  number  of  warriors  in  each  vil- 

ige  noted  —  all  this  information  having  been 

(1)  Parkman,  La  Salle,  297. 
4 


50 


HISTORY  OF^mSCONSIiV. 


given  by  La  Salle  himself  who  had  reached 
Quebec  on  his  way  to  France,  the  autumn  be- 
fore the  map  was  finished.  On  this  map  the 
Shawanoes  are  estimated  at  200  warriors  and 
the  Illinois  at  1200,  the  latter  beinjj  doubtless 
greatly  over-estimated.  How  now  are  the  re-! 
maining  2600  made  up.?  Bjy  the  extremely 
simple  device  of  counting  the  same  people  tzvice. 
The  Miamis  are  first  located  as  one  body  and 
their  numbers  estimated  at  1300.  Then  the 
different  tribes  into  which  the  Miamis  were 
divided'  —  the  Ouiatenons  or  Weas,  the 
Peanghichias  or  Piankeshaws,  etc.  —  are  sepa- 
rately located  and  their  respective  numbers 
assigned  to  each. 

The  trick  is  incredibly  transparent.  And 
there  are  other  misstatements  not  quite  so 
manifest.  Only  a  part  of  the  Miamis  could 
have  been  with  the  colony,  since  a  large  body 
of  them,  including  their  king,  were  with  the 
Mascoutins,  at  first  on  Fox  river  and  then  on 
the  Wisconsin,  from  1669  to  1690.'  Their 
numbers  are  also  exaggerated;  since  in  1736 
—  they  having  enjoyed  peace  and  prosperity  in 
the  meantime  —  the  whole  nation  was  estimated 


(1)  Consult  Shea.    Indian   Tribes  of  Wisconsin,  Wis. 
Hist.  Coll.,  Ill,  134,  on  divisions  of  Miamis. 
^2)  Relation,  167L    La  Potlierie,  II,  251. 


La  SALLE— COUREUnS  DE  BO/fif. 


51 


reached 
umn  be- 
map  the 
iors  and 
loubtless 
e  the  re- ! 
xtremtiy 
'le  twice, 
ody  and 
hen  the 
nis  were 
as,  the 
re  sepa- 
numbers 

And 
uite  so 
is  could 
^e  body 
ith  the 
then  on 
Their 
in  1736 
lerity  in 
timated 


at  550  warriors.'  Ai,^1in,  the  Illinois  had  long 
dwelt  around  Rock  St.  Louis,  and  La  Salle, 
instead  of  collecting  them  there,  had  merely 
established  his  fort  in  their  midst.  In  a  word, 
a  fraction  of  the  Miamis  and  possibly  two 
hundred  Shawanoes  —  in  all,  perhaps  seven 
hundred  warriors  —  had  temporarily  located  in 
the  Illinois  country.  And  this  had  been 
brought  about  not  by  La  Salle's  diplomacy,  but 
by  fear  of  an  Iroquois  invasion. 

That  such  a  trick  should  not  have  been  de- 
tected in  .far-away  Paris  is  not  surprising;  al- 
though it  does  almost  take  away  one's  breath  to 
find  La  Salle  coolly  proposing,  in  a  memorial 
to  the  king,  to  lead  his  four  thousand  imagin- 
ary Indians  from  Rock  St.  Louis  to  Mexico, 
promising  with  them  to  overthrow  the  Span- 
iards and  to  conquer  an  empire  as  large  as  half 
of  Europe.''  But  it  is  wonderful  that  this  fraud 
should  have  lived  on  for  two  centuries,  that 
an  eminent  historian  should  have  accepted  it 
without  suspicion  and  made  it  the  chief  factor 
in  that  preposterous  glory  which  he  was 
bent  upon  wreathing  around  the  brow  of  La 
Salle.  History  holds  few  such  examples  of 
triumphant  mendacity. 

(1)  Enumeration  of  Indian  Tribes  N.  York  Col.  Docu- 
ments, IX,  1052.    But  this  is  a  very  low  estimate. 

(2)  Parkman,  La  Salle,  326. 


52 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


La  Salle's  enterprise,  although  but  a  bubble 
of  fraud,  exerted  a  very  malign  influence  by 
arousing  the  suspicions  of  the  large  Indian 
population  massed  in  Wisconsin.  Even  before 
this  the  Foxes  had  become  distrustful  of  the 
French;  but  now  the  eyes  of  the  Mascoutins 
were  o|>ened  and  upon  La  Salle's  first  arrival 
among  the  Illinois  in  1680,  they  sent  their  chief 
Monso  to  warn  the  latter  people  against  the  en- 
croachments of  the  French.'  La  Salle,  as 
usual,  ascribed  this  interference  to  the  intrigues 
of  the  Jesuit  missionaries;  with  how  much  truth 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say.  But  it  is  certain 
that  from  this  time  the  two  chief  tribes  of  Wis- 
consin, the  Foxes  and  Mascoutins,  together 
with  the  Kickapoos  became  firm  allies,  united 
by  a  common  sentiment  of  distrust  and  latent 
animosity  toward  the.  French. 


lUit  this  rising  distrust  of  the  savages  did  not 
prevent  large  numbers  of  French  traders  or 
cowctirs  dc  bois  from  pressing  forward  into 
Wisconsin  and  other  northern  regions.  These 
brave  and  hardy  men  were  exposed  to  a  double 
danger,,  the  suspicions  of  the  savages  and  the 
regulations  of  the  fur  trade.  For,  the  royal 
edicts,  in  the  interests  of  monopoly,  prohibited 

(1)  Ihid.^  lGl-4. 


LA  SALLE—  COUREURS  DE  BOIS. 


53 


a  bubble 
lence  by 
e  Indian 
^n  before 
il  of  the 
iscoutins 
t   arrival 
leir  chief 
t  the  en- 
)alle,    as 
ntrigues 
ich  truth 
>  certain 
of  Wis- 
iogether 
,  ualted 
d  latent 


did  not 

ders  or 

rd    into 

These 

double 
and  the 
e  royal 
hibited 


the  colonists  from  going  into  the  wilderness  to 
trade,  under  the  heaviest  penalties;  for  th':  first 
offense,  whipping  and  branding;  for  the  second 
perpetual  imprisonment  in  the  galleys.'  But 
despite  these  severities  and  perils  the  flight 
westward  went  en  year  by  year,  in  ever  in- 
creasing numbers.  As  early  as  1676,  there 
were  already  in  the  woods  nearly  five  hundred 
young  men,  "the  best  in  Canada,  besides  others 
on  the  way.  "^  Three  years  later  there  were 
eight  hundred  out  of  a  total  Canadian  popula- 
tion of  io,roo  souls.  Canada  was  being  rap- 
idly drained  of  its  best  young  blood.  "There 
is  not  a  family,"  the  intendant  Du  Chesnau, 
wrote  "of  any  condition  or  quality,  whatso- 
ever, that  has  not  children,  brothers,  uncles 
and  nephews  among  the  coiireurs  de  bois.  "^ 

Monopoly  and  despotism  had  made  these 
men  outlaws.  But  to  accept  outlawry  under 
such  conditions  was  an  act  of  virtue  and  a 
proof  of  manhood.  "The  men,"  says  a  dis- 
tinguished authority, "•  "who  have  been  driven 


(l)Lettredu  JRoi,  30,April,168l.  Coll.  de  Manuscripts,  I, 
280.    Also  La  Houtan,  Voyages,  I,  8.'>-6. 

(2)  La  Chesnayo.  Memoire  sur  le  Canada.  Coll.  de 
Manuscripts,  I,  255.  In  Margry,  VI,  3,  this  memoir  is 
wrongly  dated. 

(3)  New  York  Coll.  Docvments.IX,  140-152. 

(4)  Campbell,  Political  History  of  Michigan,  14-15. 


54 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


to  the  forests  by  feudal  oppressions  and  mo- 
nopolies have  assuredly  been  possessed  of  many- 
useful  qualities  which  a  better  government 
could  have  turned  to  a  great  advantage." 

And  as  it  was,  they  were  of  incalculable  ser- 
vice to  New  France.  The  most  faithful  ser- 
vants of  the  crown  confessed  it,  while  deplor- 
ing the  violation  of  the  royal  edicts.  "  No 
doubt,"  wrote  Begon, '  '  *  the  trade  they  carry  on 
with  the  nations  is  advantageous  to  the  colony. 
The  French  should  carry  to  the  savages  all 
that  they  need  lest  they  be  attracted  to 
the  English,  and  thus  the  fu'*  trade  in  Canada 
which  is  our  main  dependence  would  be  ruined. 
The  savages  would  also  array  themselves 
against  us  in  the  first  war,  as  they  always  take 
the  part  of  those  with  v/hom  they  trade." 

The  English  were  of  the  same  opinion,  and 
saw  in  these  hardy  voyageurs  the  chief  pro- 
moters of  French  exploration  and  commerce. 
"We  shall  never  be  able  to  rancounter  the 
French,"  wrote  Livingston,  the  Indian  commis- 
sioner of  New  York,"*  "except  we  have  a  nur- 
sery of  bushlopers  as  well  as  they.  '  It  was 
manifestly  true.      F'or  lack  of  just  such  a  class, 


(1)  Sheldon,  Early  Hinlory  of  Michigan,  309-310. 
'    (2)  Report  of  Journey  to  Onondaga,  X.  Y,  Col.  Docu- 
ments, IV,  G50.  ■ 


LA  SALLE—  COUREURS  DE  BOIS. 


55 


the  English  even  in  1 7  50,  had  hardly  found  their 
[way  across  the  Alleghanies,  while  the  French 
lad  pushed  on  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mount- 
lins. ' 

And  yet   these  forest    rangers    have   been 
[savagely  traduced  even  in  modern  times.      The 
Isame  eloquent   historian   who   has  clothed  the 
Isorry  figure  of  La  Salle  in  a  halo  of  romance, 
Idescribes  the  coui-airs   dc  bois  as    "standing 
example^  of  unbridled  license,"  and  as,  "drunk- 
jen  riote'  s  stalking  about   the  streets  as  naked 
as  ?   T  j  .awattamie  or   a  Sioux."     Doubtless 
there  V  ere  wild  spirits  among   so   many   men; 
but  La  Hontan,  an  eye-witness,  does  not  paint 
their  revelries  in  any  such  gross   colors  as  the 
I  above;    and   he   expressly   adds   that    "many 
were  maTied  men  who  on  reaching  the  settle- 
ments betook  themselves  quietly   and    soberly 
to  the   bosom   of  their   families."     The   great 
fault  of  these  men  was  that  they  had  rendered 
themselves  odious  to  the  aristocrats  and  mon- 
opolists of   Canada.       "They   swagger  about 
like  lords,"  complains  the  Marquis  Denonville, 
"they  despise  the  peasantry  whose  daughters 
they  will  not  marry  although  they  are  peasants 


a 


(1)  Harrlsse.  Noten  »ur   la  Nouvelle  France,  174 
generous  tribute  to  the  forest  rangers. 
(  )  Parkraan,  La  Salle,  16fl  and  Old  Regime,  .312. 
(  )  Voyages,  I,  'M.     Letter  VI.  Montreal,  14  Juin,  1C84. 


5  J 
56 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


themselves."      The    French     voyagers    had,| 
doubtless,     many     faults;     their    lives     were] 
thoroughly   human    admixtures   of  good   andl 
evil.     But  after  all  their  chief  crimfi   seems  tol 
have  been  their  love  of  liberty.  ' 

A  bitter  strife   constantly   went  on  betweenl 
these  out-lawed  fur  traders  of  the   forest   and! 
men  like  La  Salle,  who  were  acting  as  secret) 
agents  of  corrupt  official  rings  that  were  striv- 
ing to  monopolize  the  trade  of  the  West. '     Inl 
this  strife  Wisconsin  became  the  headquarters 
of  the  forest  rangers,  to  whom  the  missionaries 
at  Green  Bay  gave  as  much  sympathy  and  sup- 
port as  they  dared.     Thus  during  the  FrenchI 
dominion,  the  white  population   of  Wisconsin 
came  to  be  mainly  made  up  of   these  gay  and 
daring  adventurers.'     But  all  in  all,  the  state | 
need  not  be  ashamed  of  these,  her  early  pio- 
neers. 

(1)  Gravier,  Cavelier  de  La  Salle,  75-77.     This  French 
panegyrist  of  La  Salle  describes  his  troubles  and  the  rigors  ] 
dealt  out  to  the  forest  rangers  as  both  due  to  the  Jesuits. 

(2)  Mackinac  was  indeed  their  great  rendezvous,  buc 
this  was  but  the  gateway  to  Wisconsin,  La  Motte  Cadil'ac 
complained  that  his  designs  at  Detroit  were  constantly 
thwarted  by  the  opposition  of  the  Jesuits  and  " of  the 
people  of  Canada,  because  their  great  project  is  the  estab- 
lishment of  Mackinac  and  the  coureurs  de  hois."  Also, 
Lettre  a  Pontchartrain,  Detroit,  Sept.  15,  1708. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

NICOLAS  PERROT  —  FRANCE  TAKES  POSSESSION 
OF    THE    WEST. 

.   :       •       -.:.-'•         ,:      .         1689.  ..   :  .  , 

Small  craft  glide  gaily  into  port  while  great 
ships  have  to  wait  for  the  rising  tide.  And 
thus  it  seems  often  to  happen  that  small  men 
sweep  into  distinction,  while  the  great  and  the 
true  stick  on  the  sand-bars  of  history  and  have 
to  bide  their  time.  Only  thus  can  one  account 
for  that  strangely  blended  fate  of  oblivion  and 
dishonor  that  has  gathered  around  the  name 
of  Nicolas  Perrot.  And  it  is  the  chief  joy  of 
the  historian  —  the  full  and  almost  sole  reward 
for  much  delving  in  the  dry  and  dusty  records 
of  the  past,  —  if  he  may  be  able  to  help  one 
such  name  onward  into  the  place  of  honor 
where  it  really  belongs,  • 

Perrot,  born  in  1644,  came  at  a  very  early 
age  to  the  New  World.  The  fi  :  years  of  his 
wilderness  career  were  passed  in  the  employ 
of  the  Jesuits;  but  about  1665,  he  began  life 
for  himself  as  a  trader  among  the  Indian  tribes 
of  Wisconsin.  Thence  he  soon  extended  his 
travels  throughout  the  Northwest.  - 


'V.',    "■:'.•.* 


V, 


58 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


In  1670,  thw  Trench  authorities  determined 
to  take  formal  possession  of  the  West,  with 
solemn  and  imposing  ceremonies.  They  looked 
around  for  some  one  fitted,  by  his  prestige 
among  the  Indians,  to  go  as  an  envoy  and 
gather  the  tribes  in  a  grand  assembly  at  Sault 
St.  Marie,  where  the  ceremonies  of  occupation 
were  to  take  place. '  ' '  No  one, "  writes  Charle- 
voix, "was"  better  adapted  for  this  import- 
ant duty  than  Nicholas  Pcrrot;"'  and  he  was 
sent.  After  dispatching  messages  to  the  tribes 
north  of  Lake  Superior,  he  went  in  person  to 
those  of  Wisconsin.  His  visit  was  crowned 
with  success;  and  the  next  spring  the  young 
envoy  returned  to  Sault  Ste  Marie  at  the  head 
of  a  great  fleet  of  canoes  filled  with  the  guile- 
less barbarians  who  had  come  to  surrender  their 
land  to  the  crown  of  France.  When  the  as- 
sembly was  convened,  St.  Lusson —  a  non- 
entity of  noble  birth  —  acted  as  master  of  cere- 
monies; but  Perrot  had  done  the  real  work. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  proud  Foxes 
were  not  at  the  council.  They  had  a  great 
friendship  for  Perrot  and  followed  him  as  far 
as  Green  Bay,    but  there  they    turned  back. 


(1)  Perrot,   Moeura  des  Sauvagea.      Tailhan'8  Notes, 
258. 

(2)  History  of  New  France,  III,  165. 


NICOLAS  PERROT. 


59 


Not  even  he  could  persuade  them  to  pay- 
homage  to  the  French.' 

Soon  afterward  Frontenac,  the  monopolist 
and  the  fierce  foe  of  the  Jesuits,  was  made 
governor  of  New  France,  Under  such  an  ad- 
ministration there  was  no  chance  for  Perrot, 
an  honest  man  and  —  like  al!  the  great  explor- 
ers, Nicolet,  Radisson,  Joliet'' — a  friend  of  the 
missionaries.  During  this  period,  therefore, 
Perrot  lived  in  retirement. 

But  this  blameless  obscurity  has  given  the 
opportunity  for  a  frightful  stab  at  Perrot's 
fame.  The  anonymous  memoir  which  contains 
the  lying  account  of  La  Salle's  discoveries, 
also  tells  of  an  alleged  attempt  to  poison  him  by 
a  domestic  in  his  service  named  Nicolas  Perrot. 

Even  if  it  was  declared  that  our  famous 
voyageur  was  meant,  the  charge  would  not 
deserve  serious  attention;  since  it  would 
have  no  support  except  an  anonymous  doc- 
ument full  of  falsehoods  and  calumnies.  But 
no  such  declaration  is  made.  It  has  been 
reserved  for  a  modern  historian  to  give  cur- 
rency to  the  charge.^     And  so  far  as  I  know 

(1)  Perrot,  Memorre,  127.  (2)  Voyages  of  Radisson, 
175.    A  hearty  defence  of  the  Jesuits. 

(3)  Parkman,  La  Salle,  104.  Even  thai  acute  critic.  Dr. 
Butler,  expresses  himself  doubtfully.  ^Vis.  Hist.  Coll., 
VIII,  205-fi.. 


6o 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


no  attempt  has  ever  been  made  to  clear  Perrot 
from  the  infamy  thus  cast  upon  him. 

Thanks  to  a  Canadian  census  list,  we  know 
something  of  Perrot  at  this  period.  It  thus 
appears  that  about  1671,  he  married  Made- 
leine Raclos,  a  young  lady  of  good  family  and 
possessed  of  a  considerable  fortune;  in  1681, 
he  was  living  quietly,  with  his  wife  and  six 
children,  upon  his  estate.'  Is  it  not  absurd  to 
think  of  him  as  La  Salle's  menial  and  a  cut- 
throat to  boot,  who  had  been  put  in  irons  and 
publicly  disgraced  for  having  attempted  to 
poison  his  master.? 

In  1683  the  friends  of  Perrot  returned  to 
power  and  he  was  forthwith  sent  West  to 
gather  up  the  Indians  for  a  campaign  against 
the  Iroquois.  In  1685,  ^^  was  made  governor 
of  the  Northwest  with  headquarters  at  Green 
Bay.  "I  was  sent  to  this  Bay,  "he  writes," 
with  a  commission  to  command  there  and  in 
the  most  distant  countries  of  the  West,  and 
also  in  all  those  I  might  be  able  to  discover."' 
He  arrived  at  Green  Bay  just  in  time  to  medi- 
ate between  the  Chippewas  and  the  Foxes, 
then  on  the  eve  of  war;  thence  he  hastened  to 
the    Mississippi    to  establish  posts  and   make 

(1)  Tailhan  in  Perrot,  Memoire,  331.    Note. 

(2)  Ibid.,  156. 


NICOLAS  PERROT, 


6l 


explorations  in  the  countries  beyond.  But  he 
had  hardly  reached  Black  River  before  winter 
set  in.  And  here  Perrot,  who  had  an  artist's 
eye  for  the  picturesque,  fixed  his  habitation 
not  far  from  Mount  Trempeleau,  that  solitary 
peak  which  rises  like  a  rocky  exhalation  from 
the  midst  of  the  Mississippi. 

The  next  season  Perrot  was  recalled  to  again 
lead  his  Indians  against  the  Iroquois.  Before 
setting  out  on  this  campaign  he  presented  to 
the  little  mission  chapel  at  De  Pere,  a  silver 
ostensorium  —  the  pious  offering  of  a  brave  and 
devout  soul.  This  precious  relic  was  dug  up 
in  1802  near  the  site  of  the  old  chapel,  and  is 
now  deposited  with  the  Wisconsin  Historical 
Society.'       :  _,  ;  ,      ; 

The  campaign  finished,  Perrot  hastened  back 
to  Green  Bay,  where  there  was  urgent  need  of 
his  presence.  The  long  smouldering  discon- 
tent of  the  Foxes  and  their  allies  was  now 
bursting  forth  into  open  violence  against  the 
French.  They  were  enraged  by  the  establish- 
ment of  the  trading  posts  on  the  Mississippi 
by  which  their  mortal  enemies,  the  Sioux,  were 
being  supplied  with  munitions  of  war.  Besides, 
they  had  suffered  all  manner  of  abuse  and 
wrongs  from  the  hands  of  the  traders,  as  the 

(1)  Butier,  Early  Historic  Relica  of  the  Northwest.   Wis. 
Hist.  Coll.,  VIII,  195-206. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


colonial  authorities  confessed.  "The  violence 
and  brutality  of  the  French  have  been  carried 
to  such  extremes,"  Denonville,  the  governor- 
general,  wrote  in  1686,  "that  it  is  a  wonder 
that  the  savages  do  not  rise  and  slay  them 
all."' 

The  malign  influence  of  La  Salle  also,  had 
greatly  aggravated  these  disorders.  Claiming 
almost  everything  in  the  West,  he  had  faltered 
at  nothing  in  order  to  enforce  his  mad  preten- 
sions. "He  had  even  ordered  the  savages," 
Charlevoix  says,^  "to  plunder  the  goods  of  any 
one  who  had  no  commission  from  him."  Out 
of  this  chaos  of  conflicting  claims,  violence 
and  iniquity,  came  a  natural  result.  In  1687 
the  Foxes,  Kickapoos  and  Mascoutins  con- 
spired to  pillage  the  French  establishment  at 
Green  Bay  in  order  to  provide  themselves  with 
guns  and  other  munitions  of  war.  The  plot 
was  carried  out,  the  mission  chapel  burned, 
everything  valuable  was  carried  off  or  de- 
stroyed. 

Perrot  was  the  chief  sufferer.  For  his  pub- 
lie  services  he  had  neither  received  nor  ex- 
pected any  reward  save  the  profits  of  his  trade 
with  the  Indians.     And,  like  all  the  merchants 

(1)  Lettre  a  Seignelay, '  12  Juin,  1686.     Tailhan,  312. 

(2)  History  of  New  France,  III,  246. 


iMiMi 


NICOLAS  PEBROT. 


63 


of  the  colony,  '  he  had  for  several  years  been 
greatly  embarrassed  on  account  of  the  Iroquois 
wars,  which  had  prevented  the  carrying  of  furs 
to  Montreal.  A  letter  of  his  to  one  of  his  cred- 
itors has  been  preserved,  the  letter  of  an  hon- 
est, high-minded  man  who  struggles  and  hopes. 
But  his  goods  were  stored  in  the  mission  build- 
ings at  Green  Bay;  and  now  all  had  vanished  in 
smoke  and  flame.  According  to  Potherie*  "M. 
Perrot  lost  furs  valued  at  forty  thousand  livres," 
a  considerable  fortune  in  those  primitive  times. 
After  so  many  hardships  and  perils,  and  so 
mnny  services  rendered  to  the  state,  he  was 
left  penniless  and  in  debt. 

But  the  courage  and  serenity  of  Perrot  were 
unfailing.  Soon  turning  away  from  this  scene 
of  desolation,  he  hurried  on  to  the  Mississippi 
with  a  force  of  forty  men.  Winter  was  already 
at  hand  and  ice  had  begun  to  form  in  Fox 
riyer.  But  daunted  by  nothing,  he  pushed 
forward  until  he  reached  Mount  Trempeleau 
and  there  once  more  went  into  winter  quarters. 

The  next  season  was  a  busy  and  prosperous 
one.    Order  was  restored  among  the  rebellious 


(1)  "  Les  marchands  sont  encore  dans  un  e'tat  plus  de'- 
plorable  tout  leur  bien  est  dans  lo  bois  depuis  trois  ou 
quatre  ans."  Letter  of  Champigni/,  Iniendanl  of  New 
France,  Augnst  9,  1688. 

(2)  La  Pot!      le,  Septentrionale  Arnerique,  IT,  209. 


64 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


tribes  of  Wisconsin.  The  Sioux  were  induced 
to  move  down  from  the  north  and  fix  their 
habitation  around  Lake  Pepin.  Fort  St.  An- 
toine  was  built  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  lake, 
and  a  tributary  post  established  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Wisconsin,  where  one  Borie  Guillot  was 
placed  in  command.  All  the  tribes  being  now 
at  peace  with  each  other  and  thorougly  loyal 
to  France,  everything  had  been  prepared  for 
the  ceremony  of  occupation.  And  on  the  9th 
of  May,  1689,  at  Fort  St.  Antoine,  Perrot,  as 
commissioner  for  the  king,  formally  took  pos- 
session of  the  great  Northwest. 

Let  us  pause  for  a  moment  at  the  spot  where 
this  memorable  ceremony  was  enacted.  The 
site  of  Fort  St.  Antoine  can  be  identified  with 
sufificient  certainty,  as  lying  near  the  base  of  a 
lofty  bluff  on  the  eastern  side  of  Lake  Pepin, 
and  about  two  miles  below  the  present  village 
of  Stockholm.'  In  the  rear  the  bluff  rises  pre- 
cipitously, first  covered  with  woods,  then  bare 
and  sprinkled  with  black-mottled  rocks,  then 
its  sunimit  crowned  with  stately  trees.  In 
front,  there  is  a  gentle  slope  of  fifty  or  sixty 
feet  to  the  side  of  the  lake.      Then  the  clear 


(1)  Draper,  Early  French  Forts. 
368-372. 


Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  X, 


NICOLAS  PERROr. 


6$ 


and  wide  expanse  of  the  waters  walled  in  on  the 
other  side  by  another  lonj;  line  of  lofty. cliffs, 
steep,  grim,  regular  as  a  rampart.  I.t  is  a 
scene  of  marvelous  beauty;  above  all,  in  mid- 
summer, when  one  looking  across  the  silvery 
waters,  beholds  the  gray  top  of  the  distant 
bluffs,  flecked  here  and  there  by  streaks  of 
gold,  where  the  great  sun-burned  harvest  fields 
beyond  are  peeping  down  on  the  fair  lake  be- 
neath. .  .  .;  • 
Such  is  the  setting  of  the  scene.  Qi  the 
ceremony  of  taking  possession  we  have  no  re-, 
cord  save  the  brief  official  minute  signed  by 
Nicolas  Perrot,  "commissioned  to  manage  the 
interests  of  commerce  among  all,  the  Indian 
tribes  and  peoples  of  the  Bay  •  des  Puants, 
Nadouesioux,  Mascoutins,  and  other  Western 
nations  of  the  Upper  Misssisippi,  and  to  .lake 
possession  in  the  King's  name  of  all  the  places 
where  he  has  heretofore  been  and  whither  he 
will  go."'  There  are  also  subscribed  to  .the 
document  the  names  of  Marest  the -Jesuit  .mis- 
sionary, Borie-Guillot  commandant  on.'  the 
Wisconsin,  Le  Sueur  the  afterwards  noted  ex- 
plorer, and  others  less  known  to  fame. 
Among  the  latter  is  one  Jean   He'bert,  doubt- 


(1)  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  XI,  36. 
5 


66 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


'l;  ■ --ii 


less  a  scion  of  that  Hebert  family  who  were 
the  first  actual  settlers  of  New  France.' 

Whole   chapters  of  history  have   been  de- 
voted to  describing  the  pomp  with  which   St. 
Lusson  took  possession  for  France  of  the  rocky 
barrens  around  Sault   Ste  Marie  and  La  Salle 
of  the  marshes  which  embosom   the  mouth  of  I 
the   Mississippi.      But  to  the  thoughtful  mind, 
the   quiet   scene  at   Fort  St.  Antoine  will  far| 
surpass  them  both  in  interest.     St.  Lusson  and 
La   Salle    stood    amidst    uninhabited  wastes, 
but  Perrot,  at  Fort  St.  Antoine,  stood  at  the  I 
centre  of  the  continent,  close  to  what  were  to 
be  its  richest  gardens  and  harvest  fields.     The 
date  itself  was  a  memorable  one.      A  few  weeks 
before  William  and  Mary   had   ascended  the 
Engli.sh  throne  and  the  English  Revolution  had 
thus  been  brought  to  its  triumphant  close.   That  | 
date  has  been  universally  accepted  as  the  turn- 
itig-point  in  the  career  of  Louis  XIV.  and  of  I 
European  despotism.     It  seems  like  a  stroke 
of  supernatural  irony  that  that  very  time  should  | 
have  been  chosen  for  the  planting  of  the  stand- 
ard of  this  waning  despotism  in  the  heart  of  I 
that  continent  which  above  all  others  had  been| 
reserved  for  liberty. 


(1)  Parkmau.      Pioneers  of  New  France. 


SICOLAS  PERROT. 


*f 


In  1690,  Perrot  was  once  more  in  Quebec 
whence  he  returned  to  Wisconsin  charged  with 
high  civil  duties.  He  went  as  an  envoy,  with 
presents  and  messages,  to  the  nations  of  the 
Northwesti  seeking  to  dissuade  them  from  the 
alliance  which  they  were  on  the  eve  of  con- 
cluding with  the  Iroquois  and  the  English.' 

While  employed  upon  this  commission  he 
discovered  the  lead  mines  which  so  long  went 
by  his  name.  Traveling  on  the  Wisconsin,  he 
was  met  by  a  delegation  of  Miamis  who 
brought  him  presents  of  beaver  skins  and  a 
specimen  of  lead  ore  from  a  rivulet  flowing 
into  the  Mississippi;  and  in  compliance  with 
their  request  he  soon  after  built  a  trading 
establishment  across  the  river  from  the  mines, 
probably  not  far  from  the  site  of  Dunleith." 
Thence  he  hastened  to  Fort  St.  Antoine  to 
mediate  between  the  Sioux  and  the  Wisconsin 
tribes,  once  more  in  a  hostile  mood;  then  back 
again  to  his  new  establishment  among  the 
Miamis.  Next,  he  is  heard  of  as  commanding 
in  Western  Michigan,  but  soon  returned  to  Wis- 
consin. '  Thus  year  after  year  passed  in  an  end- 
less round  of  private  cares  and  public  duties. 

(1)  Collection  de  Manuscripts,  Canada,  III,  495. 

(2)  La  Potherie,  II,  260. 

(3)  Still,  however,  retaining  his  command  in  Michigan, 
according  to  Tailhan,  330. 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

Life,  for  him,  bristled  with  strange  perils. 
As  a  mediator  between  warring  tribes,  he  was 
always  liable  to  fall  a  victim  to  the  jealousies, 
the  suspicions,  the  phrensy  of  the  infuriated 
savages  amidst  whom  he  flung  himself.  In 
1692  the  Mascoutins  inveigled  him  into  their 
town,  robbed  him  of  all  his  merchandise,  con- 
demned him  to  death  as  a  sorcerer  and  led  him 
to  "the  place  of  fire;"  but  he  escaped  almost 
miraculously."  Four  or  five  years  later,  the 
Miamis  accused  him  of  aiding  their  enemies, 
robbed  him  of  everything,  bound  him  to  the 
stake,  from  which  at  the  last  mo»  lent  he  was 
rescued  by  his  ever  faithful  friends,  the  Foxes." 
Still  Perrot  clung  to  the  wilderness,  fascinated 
by  its  very  perils  and  undesponding  despite  so 
many  disasters. 

But  in  1699  his  career  was  summarily  closed. 
The  king  issued  an  order  absolutely  suppress- 
ing all  licenses,  commanding  the  evacuation  of 
the  Western  posts  and  recalling  all  traders  and 
soldiers  to  the  St.  Lawrence.  This  sweeping 
proclamation  was  a  death  blow  to  the  hope?  of 
Perrot.  Shut  out  from  the  employment  of  his 
life-time,  without  resources,  harassed  by  his 
creditors,  he  was  condemned  to  an  old  age  of 

(1)  La  Potherie,  11,  284-6. 

(2)  Lfttre  de  Frontenac,  15  Sept..  1697,  331.    Also  La 
Potherie,  II,  343,  and  Charlevoix. 


NICOLAS  PEBROT. 


69 


poverty  and  humiliation.  In  vain  the  colonial 
authorities  appealed  to  the  king  in  his  behalf. 
'•He  is  very  poor  and  very  miserable,"  wrote 
Callieres,  the  governor;.'  • '  large  sums  are  justly 
due  him  for  his  services  to  the  colony."  But 
such  homely  virtues  as  justice  and  gratitude 
did  not  thrive  amidst  the  splendid  vanities  of 
Versailles. 

The  savages,  however,  although  they  did  not 
love  their  enemies,  never  forgot  a  friend.  In 
the  great  council  of  the  Indian  tribes  held  at 
Montreal  in  1701,  the  Foxes  complained  bit- 
terly about  the  removal  of  Perrot;  "we  have  no 
more  sense,"  said  the  honest  savages,  "since 
he  has  left  us."-  The  Ottawas  for  once  were 
agreed  with  the  Foxes  and  earnestly  re-echoed 
the  demand  for  his  return.'  "He  is  the  most 
highly  esteemed,"  declared  the  grand  chief  of 
the  Pottawattamies,  "of  all  the  Frenchmen  that 
have  ever  been  among  us."* 

Nevertheless,  this  tried  servant  of  the  crown 
languished  in  neglect  and  poverty.  During 
these  years  of  inaction  he  wrote  his  Memoir 
upon  the  Indians  and  other  works  —  not  in  the 
highest    style    of    literary  art,   but    keen    and 

(1)  Lettre  de  Callieres,  1702. 

(2)  Charlevoix,  V,  144.    Tailhan,  267. 

(3)  Ibid.,  V,  153.    La  Potherie,  IV,  257. 

(4)  LaPotherie,  IV,  213. 


70 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


honest — the  best  original  sources  for  the  his- 
tory of  the  French  Rule  in  the  West,  especially 
in  Wisconsin,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  17th 
Century.  His  last  work  was  a  memoir  addressed 
to  the  colonial  authorities,  about  17 16.  It  was 
an  appeal,  not  for  himself,  but  for  a  wiser  and 
humaner  treatment  of  his  old  friends,  the 
Foxes,  then  just  beginning  that  tremendous  re- 
volt which  was  to  prove  so  disastrous  to  the 
French  Dominion.  With  this  kindly  and 
characteristic  act,  the  bowed  figure  of  Perrot 
vanishes  from  the  dimly  lighted  stage  of  West- 
ern History. 


The  withdrawal  of  the  garrisons  and  traders 
from  the  West  at  the  close  of  the  century  does 
not  indicate  any  feeling  of  weakness  on  the 
part  of  the  French,  but  rather  of  strength. 
Universal  peace  was  now  dawning,  and  the 
time  seemed  ripe  for  thoroughly  carrying  out 
what  had  always  been  the  favorite  policy  of 
the  French  government.  The  trade  of  the 
Northwest  was  to  be  concentrated  at  Montreal. 
A  few  tribes,  that  had  fully  proved  their  docil- 
ity and  submissiveness,  were  to  be  installed  as 
middlemen  between  the  French  and  the  more 
independent  nations  of  the  interior.  Chief 
among   these   intermediaries  were  to    be  the 


NICOLAS  PERROT. 


71 


the  his- 
jpecially 
the  17th 
idressed 
It  was 
ser  and 
ids,  the 
dous  re- 
i  to  the 
lly  and 
•  Perrot 
f  West- 


traders 
ry  does 
on  the 
rength. 
nd  the 
ng  out 
licy  of 
of  the 
ntreal. 
*  docil- 
lled  as 
:  more 
Chief 
t)e  the 


Hurons,  Ottawas,  Pottavvattamies  and  Chippe- 
was  —  all    people    that  had  been  ground  into 
subjection  by  exile,  misery  and  constant  con-  ^ 
tact  with  the  whites.      The   first   three  tribes 
named  have  already  been  sufficiently  noticed* v 
the  last  demands  a  moment's  attention. 

The  Chippewas,  according  to  their  own  tra- 
ditions, had  dwelt  in  Northern  Wisconsin  for 
ages  before  the  coming  of  the  white  man.  We 
cannot  stop  to  tell  the  strange  story  of  their 
flight  eastward;  suffice  it  that  about  1640,  the 
French  found  them  crouching  around  Sault  Ste. 
Marie  whither  they  had  been  pursued  by  the 
Sioux.'  In  the  next  decade,  as  we  have  seen, 
the  Hurons  and  Ottawas,  fleeing  from  the  wrath 
of  the  Iroquois,  had  sought  an  asylum  in  these 
deserted  Wisconsin  forests,  but  they  too,  were 
finally  put  to  flight  by  the  Sioux.  Then  the 
exiled  Chippewas  began  to  creep  back  to  their 
old  homes;  as  early  as  1676,  some  of  them 
were  settled  on  Chequamegon  Bay;"  and  before  ^ 
many  years  the  most  of  the  nation  had  return- 
ed, building  their  council-house  and  relighting 
their  sacred  fire  at  Madeleine  Island.^     For  a 

(1)  Margry,  I,  46. 

(2)  Memoire  aur  le  Canada.     Collection  de  ManuseriptH, 
I,  252. 

(3)  Bronson.    Early  History  of  Wittconsin.     Wis.  Hist. 
Coll.,  IV,  232. 


a 


-:i 


s 


72 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


time  there  was  much  warfare  with  the  Sioux, 
but  finally  the  interests  of  trade  prevailed  over 
hereditary  hate;'  about  1695,  a  firm  friendship 
was  established  between  the  two  nations;'  and 
henceforth  the  Chippewas  prospered  abund- 
antly as  brokers  for  the  savage  multitude  be- 
yond the  Mississippi.  ^ 

The  commerce  which  thus  united  the  French 
and  the  Indians  had  its  main-spring  in  the 
eagerness  of  the  latter  for  guns  and  amunition. 
The  savages  saw  —  what  our  modern  historians 
have  strangely  failed  to  sec  —  that  their 
strength,  their  ability  to  cope  with  their  rivals, 
their  very  existence  depended  upon  their  pos- 
session of  the  white  man's  weapons. 

History  and  romance  have  united  to  exalt 
the  Iroquois,  for  instance,  above  all  other 
American  savages.  The  Iroquois,  we  are  told, 
were  wisier  and  braver  than  the  rest;  their  po- 
litical organization  was  of  a  higher  type;  their 
skulls,  it  is  gravely  asserted,^  had  a  greater 
admeasurement.  It  is  an  old  fault  of  this 
giddy  world  to  thus  mistake  luck  for  merit. 

(1)  Warren.   History  of  the  Ojibways.  Minn.  Hint.  Coll., 
V,  16:^-7. 

.  (2)  New  York  Col.  Documents,  IX.,  609.  Le  Sueur,  to 
promote  this  peace,  was  sent  to  build  a  fort  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi above  Lake  Pepin. 

(3)  Farlcman.    Jesuit  Missions.    Introduction. 


NICOLAS  PERROT. 


73 


The  fact  is  that  the  Iroquois  had  been  driven 
from  their  old  homes  on  the  St.  Lawrence'  by 
the  superior  prowess  of  the  Algononin  tribes.' 
In  the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century,  tl  ey 
fled  to  New  York  and  there  they  were  soun 
lavishly  supplied  with  guns  by  the  careless  and 
irresponsible  Dutch  traders  at  A-lbany.'  The 
French,  on  the  contrary,  for  i.  long  time  re- 
fused to  furnish  guns  to  their  Algonquin  and 
Huron  allies;*  and  so  the  Iroquois  soon  rose 
from  the  role  of  refugees  to  that  of  conquerors 
over  other  races  as  yet  unarmed.  Thus  fully 
equipped  for  battle  they  easily  crushed  the 
Hurons  whom  the  frugal  French  had  supplied 
with  hardly  anything  but  iron  kettles  and  mis- 
sionaries.     Almost  without  an  effort  the  Iro- 

(1)  Hale.  Book  of  Iroquois  Rites,  10.  Also  Le  Jeune, 
Relation,  1636.  "Les  sauvages  m'out  montre  quelques 
endioits  ou  les  Iroquois  ont  autrefois  cultive  la  terre.'' 
Also,  La  Chemage,  Ferland,  Suite,  etc. 

(2)  "  La  superiorite  des  Algonquins  se  manlfesta  des  les 
premieres  rencontres,"  etc.  Suii^e,  Melanges  d'Histoire, 
190. 

(3)  Journal  of  New  Netherlands.  N.  Y.  Col.  Docs.,  I, 
179.  The  Dutch  supplied  the  Mohawks  alone  with  400 
guns.    Also,  Parknian,  Jesuits,  212. 

(4)  Ferland,  Cours  d'Histoire  du  Canada.  "LeFran- 
cais  enterent  pendant  longtemps  de  fournir  des  fusils  a 
leur  allies."  Memoire,  1676,  in  Coll.  de  Manuscripts,  I, 
254.  "  Le  grand  nombre  (Algonquins)  ne  fut  arme  quo  de 
fort  longtemps  apres  que  les  HoUandois  eurent  arme  les 
Iroquois." 


74 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


quois  also  annihilated  the  defenseless  Eries;  but 
for  a  long  time  they  were  defied  by  a  mere 
handful  of  the  Andastes  who  had  been  armed 
by  the  Swedes  of  Delaware,  The  Illinois 
fought  with  bows  and  arrows;  and  of  course, 
they  were  driven  before  the  armed  Iroquois 
like  chaff  before  the  wind.  And  so  everywhere 
it  was  bullets,  not  excess  of  brains  or  of  brav- 
ery that  made  the  Iroquois  triumphant. 


CHAPTER  V.      n 

THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FOXES. 
170O-1712 

When  the  eighteenth  century  opened,  the 
French  Empire  in  America  was  at  the  flood- 
tide  of  its  prosperity.  But  let  us  be  sure  that 
we  understand  the  policy  upon  which  that 
prosperity  was  based.  The  French  did  not  de- 
sign to  make  settlements  in  the  West.  The 
few  forts  were  slightly  garrisoned,  and  hardly 
more  than  palisaded  trading  posts;  nothing 
was  permitted  that  might  awaken  the  jealousy 
of  the  Indians.  The  savages  were  to  be  left  in 
undisturbed  possession  of  the  whole  vast  do- 
main, on  eondition  that  they  allowed  the 
French  to  control  the  continent  and  to  monop- 
olize its  trade. 

* '  France, "  wrote  the  English  governor  of  Can- 
da,  Sir  Guy  Carleton,  in  1 768,  '  'did  not  de^)end 
on  the  number  of  her  troops,  but  on  the  discretion 
of  officers  who  learned  the  language  of  the  na- 
tives, *  *  *  distributed  the  king's  presents, 
excited  no  jealousy  and  gained  the  affections  of 
an  ignorant,  credulous  but  brave  people,  whose 
ruling    passions   are   independence,    gratitude 


1^ 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


and  revenge.'"  It  was  a  wise  policy  and  had 
been  crowned  with  signal  success.  At  th'i  be- 
ginning of  the  century  the  Indian  nations  were 
at  peace  with  each  other  and  with  France. 
Even  the  Iroquois,  who  for  more  than  eighty 
years  had  nursed  the  fiercest  hatred  of  the 
French,  were  at  last  reconciled  and  henceforth 
maintained  an  unquiet  neutrality  in  the  great 
struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  continent.  The 
destiny  of  America  seemed  already  decided. 
Protestant  England  held  a  narrow  strip  along 
the  Atlantic  coast,  but  the  lilies  of  France 
floated  without  opposition  pver  the  entire  ex- 
panse from  Quebec  to  the  mouth  of  ihe  Missis- 
sippi and  from  the  Alleghanies  almost  to  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

But  already  there  were  the  mutterings  of  a 
distant  storm  along  the  horizon.  The  curse  of 
Canada  was  the  spirit  of  monopoly.  The  com- 
merce of  the  colony  was  at  the  mercy  of  a  vast 
trading  corporation;  the  bold,  enterprising 
coureurs  dc  bois,  despite  their  great  services  to 
the  crown,  were  hunted  down  as  outlaws;  cor- 
rupt rings  formed  by  the  chief  officials  at  Que- 
bec added  the  burden  of  their  rapacity  and  ex- 
tortion; above  all,  because  the  same  system  of 

(1)  Report  to  Lord  Shelbume,  March  2,  1768  in  Cono- 
dian  ArchivtSt  1887. 


THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FOXES. 


77 


monopoly  and  restriction  prevailed  throughout 
France,  the  prices  of  French  merchandise  were 
ruinously  high.  The  consequence  was  that 
the  English  traders,  less  absurdly  fettered,  could 
offer  the  Indians  three  or  four  times  more  for 
their  furs  than  the  French  could.  One  beaver 
skin,  according  to  a  French  memoir  of  1689, 
would  buy  at  Albany  eight  pounds  of  gun- 
powder, at  Montreal  only  two;  or  forty  pounds 
of  lead  at  the  one  place  against  thirteen  at  the 
other;  or  six  times  as  much  of  the  indispensable 
brandy,  and  other  goods  in  similar  propor- 
tions.' .  ^.  ; 
The  savages  were  not  slow  to  discover  this 
difference,  and  they  began  to  chafe  under  the 
yoke  of  French  monopoly  and  extortion.  Even 
those  humblest  vassals  of  France,  the  Ottawas, 
became  restless;  and  Perrot  says  that  they 
were  at  heart  traitors  to  the  crown."  The  dis- 
content spread.  In  1706  M.  de  Vaudreuil, 
Governor  General  of  New  France,  declared 
that  the  cheapness  of  English  goods  was  the 
Gordian  knot  and  chief  difficulty  in  all  the  In- 
dian troubles.  "The  English,"  he  writes 
mournfully,  "give  powder  and  lead  exceeding- 
ly low.      The  French  government  must  some- 


(1)  Collection  de  Manuacripts,  1, 476. 

(2)  Perrot,  Memoire,  Notes,  314. 


78 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


how    manage  to  do  the  same    or  all  will    be 
lost." 

But  the  French  held  all  the  avenues  of  trade; 
they  managed  their  savage  vassals  with  infinite 
address;  the  most  skillful  politicians  in  the 
world,  they  humored  the  weakness  and  gained 
the  favor  of  the  people  whom  they  were  bent 
upon  plundering,  and  whatever  discontent  was 
felt  by  the  Indians  went  no  further  than  mut- 
tered eomplaints  and  occasional  outbursts  of 
childish  fury.  One  nation,  however,  —  the 
Foxes  of  Wisconsin — was  an  exception.  Their 
discontent  flamed  into  a  resistance  whch  grew 
all  the  fiercer  amidst  the  most  frightful  calami- 
ties and  distresses.  And  this  fire  of  Fox  re- 
sistance did  not  burn  itself  out  until  the 
French  empire  in  the  west  had  become  a  mere 
shell,  ready  to  fall  into  ruins. 

It  has  been  customary  to  explain  the  enmity 
of  the  Foxes  against  the  French  as  excited  by 
the  machinations  of  the  English  and  the  Iro- 
quois; but  the  facts  do  not  in  the  least  support 
this  theory.  The  resentment  began,  as  we 
have  seen,  with  their  first  meeting  with  the 
French,  and  at  a  time  when  they,  like  all  the 
western  nations,  were  at  war  with  the  Iroquois. 
It  continued — and  in  fact  did  not  rise  into  its 
fiercest  fury — until  long  after  the  Iroquois  had 


THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FOXES. 


79 


made  peace  with  the  French.  It  was  a  hatred 
spontaneously  springing  up  in  the  breasts  of  a 
people  passionately  fond  of  independence  and 
wise  enough  to  foresee  the  results  of  French 
domination.  Other  Algonquin  nations — Hu- 
rons  Ottawas,  Illinois,  etc.  —  cowed  and 
crushed  by  the  Iroquois  and  their  guns,  had 
flung  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the 
French;  the  Foxes,  on  the  contrary,  haughty 
and  untamed,  had  received  them  at  first  with 
suspicion  and  dislike,  at  last  with  undying  ha- 
tred. 

So  early  as  1694,  the  French  were  made 
aware  that  the  Foxes  were  secretly  hostile. 
In  that  year,  Perrot,  with  ten  or  twelve  ca- 
noes filled  with  deputies  from  the  different 
Wisconsin  tribes,  made  the  long  journey  to 
Montreal  to  have  an  interview  with  the  govern- 
or. Fox  deputies  were  with  the  rest,  but  as  if 
feeling  that  they  were  distrusted,  they  had  en- 
gaged a  Pottawattamie  chief  to  speak  for  them 
in  the  council.  But  this  very  chief  after- 
wards came  privately  to  the  governor  and  de- 
nounced his  clients.  "Put  no  faith,"  said  he 
"in  the  Foxes.  They  are  a  proud  people; 
They  despise  the  French  and  all  other  nations 
also;  they  have  a  bad  heart,  and  the  Mascou- 
tins  have  a  still  worse  heart  than  they."    Oth- 


I# 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


i  III 


ers  gave  the  same  warning.  Last  spring,  so 
Frontenac  was  told,  the  Foxes  had  some  Iro- 
quois prisoners  presented  to  them  by  the  Otta- 
was,  but  they  had  spared  the  captives  to  use 
them  in  negotiating  with  the  enemy. 

Frontenac  vas  also  informed  that  the  Foxes 
were  planning  a  singular  and  suspicious  enter- 
prise. They  had  resolved  to  forsake  their 
country.  Already  through  fear  of  a  Sioux  inva- 
sion, they  had  left  their  villages  and  dispersed 
far  and  wide  through  the  forests.  But  they 
expected  to  return  after  a  while  to  secure  their 
harvests.  Then  they  would  .seek  a  new  home 
on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash  or  the  Ohio. 

Frontenac  felt  that  this  was  indeed  a  grave 
peril.  The  Foxes,  he  wrote  to  the  king,  are  a 
fierce  and  discontented  people  in  secret  alliance 
with  the  English.  If  they  remove  to  the  Wa- 
bash with  their  affiliated  tribes,  the  Kickapoos 
and  Mascoutins,  they  will  form  there  a  nation 
of  I  500  war«"iors.  Far  away  from  their  ene- 
mies the  S.-,ax,  and  in  close  contact  with  their 
Iroquois  and  English  allies,  they  will  prosper 
as  never  before.  Other  Indian  malcontents 
will  gather  around  them.  They  will  become 
a  great  people  holding  the  key  to  the  valley  of 
the  .Mississippi.  The  fur-trade  will  pass  into 
the  hands  of  the  Engli?  "1,  and  Frencli  suprem- 
acy in  the  West  will  be  at  an  end. 


ill 


THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FOXES. 


8l 


The  Foxes,  for  reasons  not  necessavv  tO 
dwell  upon,  put  aside  at  that  time  their  pror 
ject  of  emigration  eastward.  But  eighteen 
years  afterward  the  plan  was  revived  and  car 
ried  into  execution.  In  the  meantime  the 
French,  in  order  to  shut  the  English  out  from 
the  Upper  Lakes,  had  established  a  fort  at 
Detroit,  and  around  it  they  had  induced  their 
ever  faithful  vassals,  the  Pottawattamies,  the 
Hurons  and  a  part  of  the  Ottavvas  to  settle. 
And  in  the  year  171 2,  the  Foxes,  Mascoutins, 
Kickapoos,  and  a  part  of  the  Sauks,  forsaking 
their  land  of  beauty  and  abundance  along  the 
Fox  river,  wended  their  way  to  the  new  estab- 
lishment on  Detroit  river. 

The  French  official  reports  pretend  that  the 
Wisconsin  Indians,  being  in  secret  alliance 
with  the  Iroquois  and  the  Knglish  had  come  to 
Detroit  with  the  express  purpose  of  besiering 
the  fort  and  reducing  it  to  ruins;  and  their 
statement  has  heretofore  been  unsuspectingly 
accepted  by  all  historians.'  But  there  is  little 
doubt  that  the  charge  is  a  shameful  falsehood. 
The  Fox  Indians  had  rendered  themselves  very 
obnoxious  to  the  French.      Firmly  lodged  on 


(1)  Bancroft,  II,  383.     Smith,  HMory  of  Wisconsin,  911 
Lanman.    History  of  Michigan,  42.    Strong,  Wisconsin 
Hist.  Collections,  VIII,  242. 
6 


82 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


t4ic  Fox  River  they  controlled  the  chief  high- 
way to  the  West;  a  haughty,  independent  and 
intractable  people,  they  could  not  be  cajoled 
into  vassalage.  It  was  necessary  for  the  suc- 
cess of  the  French  policy  to  get  them  out  of 
the  way.  They  were  enticed  to  Detroit  in 
order  that  they  might  be  slaughtered. 

The  proof  seems  direct  and  conclusive.  In 
the  Collection  dc  Manuscripts  relatifs  a  la  Nou- 
velle  France  published  recently  by  the  Cana- 
dian government,  it  is  declared  that  La  Motte 
Cadillac,  the  first  commandant  at  Detroit, 
••wishing  to  draw  the  commerce  of  all  the 
natfons  to  his  post,  had  sent  belts  to  the  Mas- 
coutins  and  Kickapoos  to  invite  them  to  settle 
there  and  that  they  having  accepted  the  offer, 
came  and  built  a  fort  at  the  place  which  had 
been  assigned  them."  The  Memoir  containing 
this  is  contemporaneous  with  the  events  and 
of  high  authority. ' 

Father  Marest,  Jesuit  missionary,  in  a  letter 
to  the  Governor  General.  De  Vaudreuil,  dated 
June  21,  1 71 2,  states  that  the  French  were  the 
first  movers  in  the  war,  having  joined  with  the 
Ottawas  to  destroy  the  Foxes.  This  is  the 
declaration  of  an  unprejudiced  witness,  writing 
in   a  semi-ofHcial  way  to  the  very  man  who, 

(1)  Coll.de  3fanuMeripta,  ITT,  622,  seq. 


THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FCXES. 


83 


above  all  others,  would  know  the  truth  or  fal- 
sity of  the  charge.' 

Even  the  oflficial  report  of  Du  Buisson,  tem- 
porarily commanding  at  Detroit  during  the 
siege,  contains  statements  strangely  over- 
looked, which  disclose  a  plot  to  destroy  the 
Wisconsin  Indians.  **The  Indians  said  in  the 
council,"  writes  Du  Buisson,  "that  they  knew 
the  desire  of  the  governor  to  exterminate  the 
Foxes."  *' And  just  as  soon  as  the  siege  was 
over,"  he  adds  in  another  place,  "the  allies 
set  out  for  Quebec  to  get  the  reward  which 
they  say,  Sir,  that  you  promised  them."' 

Nor  does  the  Governor  General  himself,  pre- 
tend, in  his  despatches  to  the  Colonial  Minis- 
ter, that  the  Wisconsin  Indians  had  come  to 
Detroit  with  any  hostile  designs.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  lays  the  whole  blame  on  the  Indian 
allies  of  the  French.  "Saguima  did  it  all. 
He  not  only  destroyed  many  in  their  winter- 
ing place,  but  having  found  means  to  win  over 
almost  all  the  other  tribes,  pursued  these  unfor- 
tunate people  as  far  as  Detroit,  and  there  killed 
captured  nearly  a  thousand  of  both  sexes."' 
Finally:  on  the  very  face  of  the  accounts  of 


'D  Sheldon,  Early  History  of  Michigan,  299. 

(2)  Smith,  History  of  Wisconsin. 

(3)  New  York  Coll.  Documents,lX,  H6?i. 


w 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN,     , 

the  siege,  given  both  by  Du  Buisson  and  Char- 
levoix, it  is  manifest  that  the  Wisconsin  In- 
dians had  not  come  for  war.  They  reached 
Detroit  early  in  the  spring;  the  Indian  allies 
of  the  French  did  not  arrive  until  the  nth  of 
May.  During  all  the  intervening  time  the  fort 
was  virtually  defenseless,  being  garrisoned 
by  only  twenty  Frenchmen.  Then,  if  ever, 
would  have  been  the  time  for  the  Foxes  to 
have  destroyed  Detroit.  But  they  waited 
tranquilly  until  Du  Buisson,  had  had  time  to 
send  forth  runners  as  far  as  the  Illinois  river 
and  even  to  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  to 
gather  in  his  allies.  When  all  had  gathered 
the  pretended  siege  of  Detroit  began. 

The  French  opened  fire  upon  the  unsuspect- 
ing Foxes.  The  latter,  overwhelmed  with 
surprise,  cried  out  indignantly:  "What  does 
this  mean.-*  My  father!  You  invited  us  a  little 
while  ago  to  come  and  settle  around  you  and 
now  you  declare  war  against  us.  What  have 
we  done.-*  But  we  are  ready.  Know  ye  that 
the  Fox  is  immortal."  And  with  this  yell  of 
defiance  the  betrayed  savages  retreated  behind 
their  palisades.' 

The  valor  of  the  Foxes  was  a  terror  to  all. 

(I)  Collection   de  Manuscripts  relatifs   a  la   Nouvelle 
France,  III,  623. 


THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FOXES. 


85 


And  although  the  French  Indians  were  there 
in  overwhelming  numbers  —  Hurons,  Ottawas, 
Pottawattamies,  Illinois,  even  tribes  from  the 
Missouri  and  the  Menominees  from  Wiscon- 
sin—  they  did  not  dare  to  attack  the  enemy 
in  his  stronghold.  They  preferred  to  fight  at 
a  safe  distance,  hoping  to  reduce  the  Foxes  by 
famine  and  thirst.  The  battle  went  on  for 
days.  The  French  built  two  rough  scaffolds 
about  twenty-five  feet  high  from  which  they 
poured  such  a  galling  fire  day  and  night  that  the 
Foxes  were  cut  off  from  their  supply  of  water. 
Tormented  by  thirst  and  by  hunger  —  for  their 
provisions  were  almost  exhausted  —  they  were 
still  as  haughty  and  defiant  as  ever.  To  taunt 
the  P'rench,  they  raised  rude  flag-staffs  above  . 
their  camp  and  ran  up  red  blankets  as  their  ^j 
colors,  shouting:  "We  have  no  Father  but  ■„  * 
the  English."  / 

The  French  allies  on  their  part,  were  zeal-  .: 
ous  for  France  and  the  Catholic  faith.  "The  '■''^'T' 
English,"  so  they  shouted  back,  "lire  cowards; 
they  destroy  the  Indians  with  brandy  and  are 
enemies  of  the  true  God."  It  was  a  veritable 
crusade  —  a  battle  of  religion  against  the  im- 
pious Foxes,  who  had  flung  the  red  flag  of  Eng- 
land and  heresy  to  the  breeze. 


••« 


u 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


The  Foxes,  ready  to  perish  with  hunger  and 
thirst,  began  to  make  desperate  sorties.  Once 
they  swept  all  before  them  and  gained  a  lodg- 
ment in  a  house  near  the  fort  where  they  forti- 
fied themselves;  but  the  French  cannon,  at 
such  close  quarters,  ploughed  through  and 
through  the  frail  structure,  and  its  defenders 
were  finally  forced  to  retire.  Then  they 
wished  to  negotiate;  but  their  proposals  not 
being  listened  to,  they  made  another  tremen- 
dous onslaught.  This  time  they  shot  up  hun- 
dreds of  blazing  arrows  which  fell  upon  the 
thatched  roofs  of  the  houses  and  set  them  on 
fire;  the  whole  town  and  the  fort  would  soon 
have  been  destroyed  if  the  French  had  not 
checked  the  flames  by  covering  the  roofs  with 
wet  skins.  Amid  the  smoke  and  flames  the 
savages  fought  hand  to  hand,  yelling  like  de- 
mons, their  faces  hideous  with  paint  and  fury, 
their  tomahawks  dripping  with  blood. 

At  last  the  French  Indians  became  discour- 
aged and  wished  to  go  away.  •  'We  shall  never 
conquer  these  people,"  they  said.  "We  know 
them  well,  and  they  are  braver  than  any  other 
people." 

Du  Buisson,  seeing  himself  about  to  be  de- 
serted, prepared  to  sail  away  to   Michillimack- 


THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FOXES. 


«7 


inac.       But    before    surrendering    Detroit,   he 
made  one  more  effort;  gathering  his  confeder- 
ates in  council,  be  tried  to  revive  their  droop- 
ing courage;  he  appealed  to  their  hatred  of  the 
Foxes  and    loaded  them  down  with   presents 
until  he  "had  given  away  everything  he  had.'' 
But   all    this    would    have   availed    nothing  if 
treachery  had  not  come  to  his  aid.     A  part  of 
the  Sauk  tribe  had  come  with  the  other  Wis- 
consin Indians,  and  they  now  deserted  to  the 
French,  telling  a  frightful  story  of  what  was 
going  on  in   the  camp  of  the  enemy.      "The 
Foxes,"  they  said,   "are  worn  out  with  famine, 
sickness  and  constant  fighting;  great  numbers 
have  already  fallen.     More  than  eighty  dead 
bodies  are  now  lying  unburied  in   the  camp; 
the  air  is  filled  with  a  horrible  stench;  pesti- 
lence   abounds."     When    the  French   Indians 
heard  all  this,  their  courage  rose  and  they  were 
eager  for  battle.       The  story  of  the  deserters 
was  too  true.      The  unhappy  Foxes  had  now 
lost  all  hope  of  successful  resistance,  and  they 
soon  raised  the  white  flag  of  surrender.     Pem- 
oussa,  their  great  war  chief,  spoke  like  a  genu- 
ine hero.      "Do  not  believe,"  he  said,   "that  I 
am  afraid  to  die.      It  is  the  life  of  our  women 
and   children   that  I  ask  of    you."      But    the 
French  refused  even  this,  and  the  Foxes,  de- 


li 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


lift 
If, 


spairing  but  defiant,  withdrew  again  into  their 
entrenchments. 

Fortune  came  at  last  to  their  rescue.  One 
night  there  was  a  heavy  rain-storm,  and  under 
cover  of  its  darkness,  the  Foxes  slipped  silent- 
ly-away.  The  fight  had  lasted  for  nineteen 
days. 

Next  morning,  the  French  confederates 
batulked  and  furious,  set  out  in  hot  pursuit. 
Twelve  miles  above  Detroit  they  came  up  with 
one  division  of  the  Foxes  who  had  encamped 
hf  the  side  of  Lake  St.  Clair.  "Not  perceiving 
the  enemy's  entrenchments,"  the  French  ex- 
pected to  find  an  ea.sy  prey,  and  with  yells  of 
triumph  fell  upon  the  fugitives  like  wolves  up- 
on a  flock  of  sheep.  Being  driven  back  in  dis- 
order, they  began  a  new  siege  with  great  cau- 
tion. The  Foxes  fought  bravely,  but  hope- 
lessly; they  were  hemmed  in  upon  every  side, 
either  by  the  lake  or  the  enemy;  the  French 
cannon,  which  had  been  brought  up  from  De- 
troiti  battered  down  their  weak  defences  and 
finally  on  the  fifth  day  of  the  second  siege  they 
surrendered  at  discretion. 

No  mercy  was  shown.  "The  allies  and  the 
French,"  writes'  Charlevoix,  "commenced  a 
deadly  slaughter,   destroying  all   the  warriors 

(P  Charlevoix,  History  of  New  France,  V,  265. 


-^ 


THE  BETRAYAL  OF  THE  FOXES. 


89 


except  about  one  hundred  and  fifty,  who,  with 
the  women  and  children,  were  distributed  as 
slaves  among  the  Indians;  but  the  latter  did 
not  keep  them  long  for  they  were  all 
massacred  before  they  separated."  The  slain, 
according  to  the  statements  of  Charlevoix  and 
Ferland,  numbered  two  thousand  souls; '  one 
thousand,  according  to  the  exculpatory  and 
wholly  unreliable  report  of  Du  Buisson,  the 
French  commander.  Certain  it  is  that  not  a 
man,  woman  or  child  who  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy  was  permitted  to  live.' 

The  dark  annals  of  Indian  history  record  no- 
thing quite  as  black  as  this  transaction,  begun 
in  vile  treachery  and  ending  in  unpicturable 
horrors.  The  lovely  nights  of  early  June,  the 
tranquil  lake,  the  forests  newly  robed  in 
beauty — all  this  was  lighted  up  by  hundreds 
upon  hundreds  of  fires,  at  each  of  which  some 
man,  woman  or  child,  was  being  slowly  burned 
to  death.  No  wonder  that  the  French  were 
not  willing  to  assume  all  the  responsibility  for 
this  affair  at  Detroit.  "It  is  God,"  writes  the 
commandant,  Du  Buisson,  "who  has  suffered 
these  two  audacious  nations  to  perish." 

(1)  Ferland,  Cours  d'Histoire  du  Canada,  II,  388. 

(2)  Report  to  M.  de  Vandreuil.   Smith,    Documentary 
History  of  Wiscowtin, 


CHAPTER  VI. 


THE  GAUNTLET  TAKEN  UP. 


I  712  —  I7l6. 

But  the  Wisconsin  Indians  were  by  no  means 
so  nearly  exterminated  as  the  French  authorities 
had  fondly  dreamed.  ' '  Although  the  number  of 
the  dead  is  very  great,"  wrote  the  missionary, 
Marest,'  **the  Fox  nation  is  not  destroyed." 
According  to  his  estimate  there  still  remained 
about  Green  Bay,  four  hundred  good  warriors, 
besides  others  scattered  in  the  great  flight. 
Nor  had  the  slaughter  at  Detroit  broken  the 
spirit  of  these  indomitable  savages;  it  had  only 
deepened  their  old  dislike  of  the  French  into  a 
grim,  undying  hatred.  Even  the  next  year 
the  governor  and  the  intendant  complain  to 
the  Minister  at  Paris  that  '*the  Fox  Indians 
are  daily  becoming  more  insolent."' 

Disaster  however  had  disciplined  these  wild 
warriors.  Henceforth  they  will  be  more  con- 
ciliatory in  their  intercourse  with  surrounding 

(1)  LettertoM.de  Vaudreuil.    Sheldon,  Early  History 
of  Michigan,  299. 

(2)  Letter  of  De  Vaudreuil  and  Begon,  Nov.  15,    1713. 
Abstract  in  Canadian  Archives,  1886,  p.  XLiv. 


THE  GAUNTLET  TAKEN  UP. 


91 


)  means 
fiorities 
mber  of 
ionary, 
royed." 
mained 
irriors, 
flight, 
en  the 
id  only 
I  into  a 
t  year 
ain  to 
ndians 

ie  wild 
e  con- 
inding 

History 

),   1713. 


nations,  seeking  far  and  wide  for  helpers  and 
friends  in  the  great  struggle  to  which  they  had 
devoted  themselves.  The  first  fruits  of  their 
new  policy  was  an  alliance  with  the  Sioux, 
with  whom  they  had  been  at  war  from  time 
immemorial.  But  in  17 14  the  two  nations  had 
joined  hands  against  the  Illinois,  the  wards 
and  abject  servants  of  the  French.  No  great 
expedition  was  organized;  war  was  waged  by 
piecemeal.  Some  young  warrior,  eager  for 
glory,  would  gather  around  him  a  band  of  com- 
rades and  sally  forth  out  of  the  forests  of  North- 
ern Wisconsin,  across  the  prairies,  to  surprise 
the  Illinois  in  their  villages  or  to  fall  upon 
them  in  their  hunting  parties.  If  the  warriors 
succeeded,  they  came  back  in  triumph,  waving 
their  trophies  and  shouting  their  battle  songs; 
but  if  they  failed,  they  returned  as  men  dis- 
graced, waiting  on  the  outskirts  of  the  village 
until  the  dead  of  night  and  then  stealing,  silent 
and  crestfallen,  into  their  cabins. '  But  in  either 
case  the  war  went  on. 

Thus  blow  after  blow  fell  upon  the  Illinois. 
Charlevoix  has  indeed  exaggerated  or  rather 
anticipated  events  when  he  says  that  so  early 
as  1714  these  Indians  were  driven  from  their 
old  homes  on  the  Illinois  river,  never  to  return.  =» 

(1)  Wiaconain  Hist.  Collectiona,  III,  446. 

(2)  History  of  New  France,  V.  309. 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.25 


iai2.8 

■  50     ^^" 


2.2 


1^  1^ 


1.4 


1.6 


>Q 


^r 


7 


/A 


.(A:,a;' 


92 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


So  late  as  1722  one  tribe  still  clung  to  their 
famous  stronghold,  Rock  St.  Louis;  but  the 
rest  had  fled  far  southward  and  had  settled 
under  French  protection  on  the  Kaskaskia. 

The  French  authorities  became  greatly- 
alarmed.  The  policy  by  which  all  the  nations 
of  the  West  were  to  be  marshalled  as  retainers 
and  supporters  of  a  great  French  Empire 
stretching  across  the  continent,  was  about  to 
be  defeated  by  the  stubborn  and  bitter  hate 
of  a  single  tribe.  The  Foxes  were  allying  with 
themselves  not  only  the  tribes  of  Wisconsin, 
but  the  Sioux  and  other  distant  peoples.  By 
their  settlement  on  Fox  river  they  were  mas- 
ters of  the  chief  channel  of  communication  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  West;  by  driving  the 
Illinois  off  from  the  river  of  the  same  name 
they  were  gaining  almost  complete  control  of 
the  only  other  great  highway.  Communica- 
tions were  becoming  very  difficult.  Travellers 
to  and  fro  were  always  at  the  mercy  of  the 
Foxes;  many  were  plundered  and  killed.  The 
vast  but  fragile  Empire  of  New  France  was  al- 
most split  asunder  by  these  implacable  savages 
of  Wisconsin. 

Various  means  of  meeting  this  danger  were 
suggested.  It  was  even  proposed  to  sweep 
away  the  old  commercial  system  with  its  mo- 


THE  GAUNTLET  TAKEN  UP. 


93 


nopolies,  restrictions  and  exactions.  In  17 14 
the  governor  and  the  intendant  of  the  colony 
wrote  to  the  colonial  minister  that  "trading* 
must  be  made  free  for  a  few  years  at  least,"' 
Such  a  policy,  adopted,  not  for  a  few  years, 
but  permanently,  would  have  changed  the 
whole  future  of  the  colony;  the  rising  discon- 
tent of  the  Indians  would  have  been  overcome; 
their  affection  for  the  French  maintained. 
New  France,  already  entrenched  in  the  fairest 
portions  of  the  West  and  commanding  all  its 
chief  avenues  of  trade,  would  have  entered 
upon  a  boundless  prosperity  and  her  supremacy 
over  the  continent  been  assured  for  ages  to 
come.  But  the  proposal  was  too  revolutionary, 
too  subversive  of  all  the  traditions  of  French 
despotism;  and  although  suggested  again  and 
again,"  met  with  little  favor  from  the  court. 

Instead  of  this,  it  was  proposed  to  again  at- 
tempt the  extermination  of  the  Foxes.  In 
vain,  the  wi  >est  and  most  experienced  people 
of  the  colony  protested  against  a  policy  so 
brutal  and  so  foolish.      Perrot,  who  for  half  a 


(1)  De  Vaudreuil  and  Begon  to  the  Minister,  Sept.  20, 
1714.     Canadian  Archives,  188(5.  xiiiv. 

(2)  A  letter  of  De  Vaudreuil  and  Begon,  Oct.  U,  1716, 
contains  a  draft  of  proposed  measures  for  freedom  of  trade 
—  not  to  begin  before  Jan.  1,  1718.     Can.  Archiven,  1886, 

XL  VII.  a 


94 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


century  had  been  better  versed  than  any  other 
man  in  the  affairs  of  the  West,  defended  the 
Foxes  and  presented  a  memoir  in  their  favor 
to  the  Governor  General.  Although  now  past 
seventy  years  of  age,  he  offered  to  once  more 
brave  the  hardships  of  the  wilderness  in  order 
to  treat  with  the  savages  who  still  had  a  per- 
fect trust  in  the  one  Frenchman  who  had  never 
betrayed  their  confidence.  "If  I  had  gone 
with  De  Louvigny,"  he  said  afterwards,  *'I 
would  have  made  peace  with  the  Foxes  with- 
out fighting  or  bloodshed."' 

But  folly  prevailed.  And  on  the  14th  of 
March,  1716,  an  expedition  led  by  a  brave  and 
tried  officer,  De  Louvigny,  set  out  from  Que- 
bec to  destroy  the  Foxes.  On  the  route  they 
were  joined  by  allied  Indians  until  the  com- 
mand numbered  eight  hundred  men.  In  due 
time  they  reached  Green  Bay,  the  first  hostile 

expedition  of  white  men  that  ever  touched  the 
shores  of  Wisconsin.  ^ 

Thence  they  toiled  up  the  rapids  of  the  Fox 

river  until  they  came  to  the  town  of  the  Foxes 

which,  according  to  tradition,  was  located  at 

Little  Butte  des  Morts,  a  slight  eminence  close 

to  the  west  bank  of  the  river  and  nearly  oppo- 


(1)  Perrot,  Moeura  dea  Savages,  153. 
erie. 


Also  La  Poth- 


THE  GAUNTLET  TAKEN  UP. 


95 


site  to  the  site  of  the  city  of  Neenah.'  Here 
the  savages  had  fortified  themselves  in  the 
rude  way  known  to  their  engineering  art,  hav- 
ing run  a  triple  row  of  oaken  palisades  arouud 
their  town  and  in  the  rear  dug  a  deep,  wide 
ditch.  Within  the  enclosure  were  five  hundred 
warriors  and  three  thousand  women  and  child- 
ren. 

The  Foxes  at  this  time  were  in  all  the  per- 
fection of  savage  wildness.  Their  dislike  of 
the  French  had  kept  them  free  from  the  touch 
of  civilized  vices  and  miseries.  The  Jesuit 
missionaries  noted  the  absence  of  sickness 
among  them,  having  found  on  their  first  visit 
but  one  person  seriously  ill,  a  consumptive 
child. ^  "They  abound  in  women  and  child- 
ren," says  a  French  Memoir  of  171 8.  "They 
are  as  industrious  as  can  be.  The  people  live 
well  on  account  of  the  abundance  of  meat  and 
f.jh.  The  hunting  is  excellent  and  the  river 
is  full  of  fish.  The  men  wear  scarcely  any 
clothing  in  the  summer  time.  .  .  .  But 
the  girls  are  robed  in  black  or  brown  fawn 
skins,  embellished  all  around  with  little  bells 

(1)  The  Chicago  &  Northwestern  Railway  was  laid  out 
through  this  famous  mound  and  almost  the  entire  hill  has 
been  dug  away. 

(2)  Relation,  1671. 


96 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


or  similar  ornaments.  They  are  pretty 
enough."' 

Such  were  the  savages  vvho  had  gathered 
behind  their  oaken  palisades  to  await  the  com- 
ing of  De  Louvigny  and  his  destroying  army. 
'•Everybody  believed,"  writes  Charlevoix,' 
''that  the  Fox  nation  was  about  to  be  de- 
stroyed; and  so  they  themselves  judged  when 
they  saw  the  storm  gathering  against  them; 
they  therefore  prepared  to  sell  their  lives  as 
dearly  as  possible." 

One  can  but  dimly  imagine  the  scene: 
thousands  of  men,  women  and  children  tran- 
quilly awaiting  their  doom;  the  busy  prepa- 
rations for  war,  the  few  guns  made  ready, 
spears  sharpened,  the  stone  arrow-heads  se- 
curely fastened  to  their  shafts;  the  council  fires 
around  v/hich  the  warriors  crouched,  row  upon 
row,  in  solemn  conclave;  the  long  fastings,  for 
the  Foxes,  very  devout  after  their  own  fashion, 
would  often  fast  ten  days  at  a  time  on  the  eve 
of  battle;^  their  incessant  war  dances  now  slow 
and  measi'.red,  now  growing  fast  and  furious 
until  the  forests  rang  with  their  wild  songs  and 
cries  of  defiance.  "  '  '    ' 

(1)  N.  Y.  Col.  Documents.    Memoir  upon  the  Indiana  of 
Canada,  IX,  889. 

(2)  Charlevoix,  History  of  New  France,  IV,  155. 

(3)  Relation,  1671. 


THE  GAUNTLET  TAKEN  UP. 


97 


The  French,  taught  wisdom  at  Detroit,  pro- 
ceeded with  the  utmost  caution.  Unwilling  to 
risk  an  open  assault  against  the  redoubtable 
Foxes,  they  beseiged  them  in  regular  form. 
For  three  days  the  French  toiled  in  the  trench- 
es, "sustained  by  a  continuous  fire  of  fusileers 
with  two  pieces  of  cannon  and  a  grenade  mor- 
tar." The  Foxes,  on  their  part,  fought  with 
their  wonted  valor.  From  the  first  they  had 
been  expecting  a  re-inforcement  of  three  hun- 
dred men,  doubtless  Mascoutins.  Disappoint- 
ed and  desperate  they  made  a  furious  assault 
upon  the  enemy,  but  were  finally  driven  back 
behind  their  palisades. 

The  trenches  which  had  opened  at  seventy 
yards  distance,  had  been  pushed  forward  to 
within  twenty-four  yards  of  the  fort.  On  the 
third  night,  De  Louvigny  was  ready  to  explode 
two  mines  under  the  defenses  and  to  storm  the 
place.  At  the  last  moment  the  Foxes  offered 
to  surrender,  but  the  French  commander  re- 
fused to  listen  to  them.  He  had  come  not  to 
negotiate,  but  to  destroy. 

The  deputies  came  forth  a  second  time  to 
sue  for  peace.  Why  DeLouvigny  should  now 
have  acceded  to  their  proposition  is  a  mys- 
lery  not  worth  the  unravelling;  perhaps  he 
knew   that  the  long  expected  reinforcements 


98 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


f'!W 


were  close  at  hand;  or  very  likely  he  doubted 
the  nerve  of  his  allies  when  brought  face  to 
face  with  the  Foxes.  At  any  rate,  in  his 
official  report  he  tried  to  throw  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  peace  upon  the  allied  Indians. 
'•I  submitted  to  them  the  enemy's  proposition 
and  they  consented  to  it."  But  this  the  French 
Indians  indignantly  denied.  Five  years  after- 
ward an  attempt  was  made  to  once  more  unite 
them  in  a  crusade  against  the  Foxes  and  they 
refused;  "  it  is  difficult,"  they  said  "to  place 
confidence  in  the  French  who  had  once  before 
united  the  nations  to  assist  in  exterminating 
the  Foxes  and  then  had  granted  peace  without 
even  consulting  the  allies."' 

The  conditions  of  surrender  were  remarkably 
mild,  showing  plainly  that  something  had  gone 
wrong  in  the  project  of  extermination.  The 
Foxes  were  to  give  up  their  prisoners;  they 
were  to  hunt  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  war; 
they  were  to  take  slaves  from  different  nations 
and  deliver  them  to  the  allies  to  replace  the 
dead;  six  chiefs,  or  children  of  chiefs,  were  also 
to  be  taken  to  Quebec  as  hostages.  Peace  con- 
cluded, De  Louvigny  set  out  on  his  home- 
ward march,  arriving  at  Quebec  on  the  I2th  of 
October.      The  next  day  he  made  a  report  to 


(1)  New  York  Col.  Documents,  IX. 


THE  GAUNTLET  TAKEN  UP. 


99 


the  council,  ending  with  the  boast  that  "he  had 
reunited  the  nations  and  left  that  country  en- 
joying universal  peace." 

The  next  spring  De  Louvigny  was  sent  back 
to  secure  the  full  performance  of  the  conditions. 
During  the  winter,  however,  three  of  the  Fox 
chiefs  held  at  Quebec,  had  died  of  the  small- 
pox, another,  apparently  the  only  remaining 
one,  had  lost  an  eye,  and  with  but  this  solitary 
and  disfigured  hostage  the  French  officer  was 
compelled  to  return.  He  himself,  a  little  tim- 
idly perhaps,  stopped  at  Michillimackinac,  and 
thence  sent  forward  the  one-eyed  hostage,  with 
two  French  interpreters  to  perfect  the  treaty. 

After  their  arrival  among  the  Foxes,  several 
days  were  spent  in  mourning  for  the  des^d. 
This  to  the  savages  was  the  most  sacred  of  all 
solemnities.  "Their  toils  and  their  com- 
merce," writes  the  Jesuit  Brebeuf, '  "seem  to 
have  no  other  end  than  to  amass  the  means  of 
honoring  the  departed;  they  have  nothing  too 
precious  for  this  object;  often  in  mid-winter 
you  will  see  them  going  almost  naked,  while 
they  have  at  home  good  and  costly  robes  which 
they  keep  in  reverence  for  the  dead,"  And 
now  the  Foxes  were  bewailing  the  loss  of  their 

(1)  JJeiahon  desiTurows,  1636,  128.  . 


lOO 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


three  principal  chiefs  —  above  all,  of  the  re- 
nowned I'emoussa,  who  had  commanded  them 
at  Detroit  and  had  led  the  remnant  of  the 
nation  safely  back  to  its  Wisconsin  home.  It 
was  a  common  grief  shared  by  every  member 
of  the  tribe.  Day  after  day  they  lay,  face 
downward,  upon  their  mats,  speechless  or  else 
chanting  the  death-songs  dolorously.' 

These  solemn  duties  discharged,  a  council 
was  called  to  consider  the  treaty  with  the 
French.  The  one-eyed  hostage  gravely 
harangu*.  d  his  countrymen  upon  their  failure  to 
keep  the  stipulations  of  the  surrender.  They, 
on  their  part,  were  very  contrite  and  made 
many  promises.  They  even  signed  an  agree- 
ment in  writing  that  they  would  send  deputies 
to  Montreal,  the  next  spring,  to  finish  the  treaty. 
Armed  with  this  precious  document  the  hostage, 
with  the  two  French  interpreters,  set  out  for 
Michillimackin^c. 

But  when  they  had  gone  about  ten  leagues, 
the  hostage  began  to  hesitate.  He  felt  it  his 
duty,  he  said,  to  go  back  to  his  people  and  labor 
with  them  in  order  that  they  might  keep  faith 
with  the  French.  So  saying,  the  savage  diplo- 
mat turned  his  back  upon  his  fellow  travelers 

(I)  VuXe.    Book  of  Iroquois  Rites,  71. 


THE  GAUNTLET  TAKEN  UP. 


lOI 


and  was  soon  lost  to  view  in  the  depths  of  the 
forest.  And  that  was  the  end  of  the  treaty 
with  the  Foxes. 

Shall  we  pause  to  bewail  the  faithlessness  of 
the  Foxes.-*  They  had  been  schooled  in  per- 
fidy by  the  French,  and  the  events  at  Detroit 
were  still  fresh  in  their  memories;  their  suspic- 
ions had  been  roused  by  the  mysterious  death 
of  their  chiefs  at  Quebec;  they  were  struggling 
for  home  and  liberty  against  a  host  that  had 
united  for  their  destruction.  It  may  be  that 
their  conduct  was  open  to  criticism.  But  let 
him  that  is  without  sin,  just  cast  a  stone  at 
them. 

It  is  no  part  of  my  design  to  idealize  the 
Fox  Indians.  Doubtless  they  were  savages 
addicted  to  nudity,  lying  and  other  unsavory 
habits.  Placed  under  the  microscope  of  exact 
research,  they  became  as  unromantic  as  other 
human  beings.  But  after  all,  the  story  of  their 
resistance  to  the  French,  and  of  its  wide- 
sweeping  results,  has  about  it  as  much  of  the 
heroic  and  the  grand,  as  the  hard  realism  of 
history  will  ever  permit. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

THE   GREAT   CONFEDERACY. 

1716-I726. 

The  expedition  of  Dc  Louvigny  had  accom- 
plished nothing  but  evil.  Instead  of  being 
destroyed,  the  Foxes  had  only  been  roused  to 
fiercer  efforts;  now  that  the  old  chiefs  were 
dead,  slain  by  the  small-pox  at  Quebec,  there 
was  no  check  upon  the  hot-headed  impetuosity 
of  the  young  warriors;'  and  the  next  year  after 
the  attempt  to  perfect  the  peace,  they  h'id 
joined  with  the  Mascoutins  and  the  Kickapoos  in 
another  war  against  the  Illinois.'  Everywhere 
else  tranquility  reigned.  But  this  wrath  of  the 
Wisconsin  Indians  against  the  French  and 
their  vassals  was  the  black  thunder-cloud  that 
seemed  all  the  more  ominous  amidst  the  uni- 
versal sun-shine.  **A11  would  be  peace  on 
this  continent,"  De  Vaudreuil  in  1719  wrote 
plaintively  to  the  king,   "if  it  were  not  for  this 


(1)  Alluded  to  so  late  as  1727.     Caaa  Manuscripts.  Wis- 
conain  Hist.  Collections,  III,  163. 

(2)  De  Vaudreuil  to  the  Minister,  Oct.  30,  1718.    Cana- 
dian Archives,  1886,  p.  LVii. 


THE  a  RE  AT  CONFEDERACY. 


103 


perpetual  war  of  the   Foxes   and   their  allies 
against  the  Illinois."' 

It  was  now  the  period  of  John  Law  and  his 
celebrated  Mississippi  scheme.  France,  im- 
poverished by  the  gilded  follies  of  Louis  XIV, 
suddenly  became  a  perfect  fairy-land  of  mock 
prosperity.''  Of  course,  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi shared  in  this  glamour;  nothing  was 
too  absurd  to  be  believed  concerning  its  hidden 
wealth.  Pearl-fisheries  were  said  to  abound  in 
its  waters.  The  prairies  of  Illinois  were  under- 
laid with  vast  deposits  of  gold  and  silver;  and 
in  1 7 19,  Renault,  Director-General  of  the 
Mines  of  Louisiana  was  sent,  with  two  hundred 
miners  and  artificers  to  unearth  these  fabulous 
treasures.  The  wool  of  the  buffaloes  also  was 
to  furnish  inexhaustible  material  for  the  man- 
ufacture of  cloth  and  hats;  for  this  purpose 
they  were  to  be  domesticated,  gathered  in 
parks,  and  transported  to  France.^  Forty 
years  before,  indeed,  the  mad  brain  of  La  Salle 
had  given  birth  to  this  plan  for  utilizing  the 
buffaloes.* 

(1)  Nexo  York  Coll.  Documents,  IX,  893. 

(2)  Justamond,  Lewis  XV,  vol.  1,  page  82,  gives  a  list  of 
immense  fortunes  suddenly  acquired .  Consult  also  Buckle. 
Hiat.  Ciinlization,  1,516. 

(3)  Charlevoix,  Hist.  New  France,  III,  389. 

(4)  Parkman,  La  Salle. 


■■:fk% 


104 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


ii-y 


The  bubble  soon  burst,  but  it  left  behind  it 
some  solid  benefits.  Many  colonists  were  for- 
warded; "persons  without  means  of  liveli- 
hood," according  to  St.  Simon/  "sturdy  beg- 
gars, male  and  female,  and  a  quantity  of  pub- 
lic creatures  were  carried  off;"  but  they  entered 
upon  a  new  life  amidst  the  wilds  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. A  considerable  settlement  was  formed 
below  the  Kaskaskia.  Trade  and  agriculture 
flourished;  not  only  furs  but  grain  and  flour 
were  shipped  down  the  river  to  France  or  to 
the  West  Indies.  Fort  Chartres  was  built  with 
walls  of  solid  masonry  —  the  key-stone  in  that 
great  arch  of  forts  which  stretching  from  Que- 
bec to  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  was  de- 
signed to  shut  the  English  up  in  the  narrow 
strip  of  land  along  the  Atlantic,  and  to  establish 
the  unity  of  the  French  Empire  in  the  West. 

The  Foxes,  thererefore,  in  their  struggle  to 
destroy  the  Illinois  Indians  and  to  gain  control 
of  the  Illinois  river,  were  aiming  their  blows 
at  the  very  heart  of  the  French  Dofiiinion. 
The  colonial  authorities  fully  realized  the  dan- 
ger. '  *  The  nation, "  wrote  Charlevoix  in  1 72 1 , ' 
"which  for  twenty  years  past  has  been  the 


(1)  Meraoires  of  St.  Simon,  III,  236. 

(2)  Charlevoix.     Lettern,   London,   1763. 
July  21,  1721,  p.  211. 


Letter  XI^, 


mu 


THE  GREAT  CONFEDERACY. 


105 


most  talked  of  in  these  western  parts  is  the 
Outagamies  or  Renards.  The  natural  fierce- 
ness of  their  savagery  soured  by  the  ill-treat- 
ment they  have  received,  sometimes  without 
cause,  and  their  alliance  with  the  Iroquois  have 
rendered  them  formidable.  They  have  since 
made  a  strict  alliance  with  the  Sioux,  a  numer- 
ous nation  inured  to  war;  and  this  union  has 
rendered  all  the  navigation  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  Mississippi  almost  impracticable  to  us. 
It  is  not  quite  safe  to  navigate  the  river  of  the 
Illinois  unless  we  are  in  a  condition  to  prevent 
surprise,  which  is  a  great  injury  to  the  trade 
between  the  two  colonies." 

But  this  account  does  not  do  full  justice  to 
the  diplomacy  of  the  Foxes;  for,  when  Charle- 
voix wrote,  they  had  not  completed  their  work. 
Year  by  year  they  went  on  extending  their 
league  and  increasing  the  uneasiness  of  the 
French.  "They  will  array  all  the  upper 
(western)  nations  against  us,"  wrote  one  com- 
mandant to  another.'  And  in  the  end  a  league 
was  formed,  by  the  side  of  which  Pontiac's 
famous  confederacy,  or  any  other  ever  estab- 
lished among  Indians,  seems  but  a  trivial 
affair. 


(1)  M.  de  Lignery  to  M.  de  Siette.    Caaa  Mantiacripta. 
Wisconsin  Hist  Collections,  III,  155. 


.W^ 


'-'••fe 


fit 


io6 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


This  great  league  comprehended,  first,  all 
the  nations  of  Wisconsin,  excepting  those  faith- 
ful henchmen  of  the  French,  the  Chippewas. 
The  Mascoutins  and  Kickapoos,  as  we  have 
seen,  had  long  been  in  closest  union  with  the 
Foxes.  The  Sauks,  even  as  late  as  the  time  of 
Charlevoix's  visit,'  had  been  divided  into  two 
factions,  for  and  against  the  Foxes;  but  soon 
afterward  they  all  joined  the  great  confederacy. 
The  Winnebagoes,  also,  were  won  over.  Even 
the  peaceful  Menominees  were  drawn  into  the 
league  against  the  French  and  were  the  first  to 
feel  their  vengeance." 

These  many  tribes  had  hardly  anything  in 
common.  They  were  of  different  races  and 
languages;  from  the  East,  the  West,  the  North 
and  the  South,  they  had  been  driven  into  Wis- 
consin like  drift-wood  flung  upon  a  common 
shore.  The  uniting  of  these  diverse,  jealous, 
warring  tribes  is  a  wonderful  tribute  to  the  wis- 
dom and  patience  of  the  Foxes. 

Beyona  the  Mississippi,  the  league  embraced 
the  formidable  Sioux.  To  break  up  this 
alliance  and  to  bring  the  Sioux  into  commer- 
cial dependence  upon  the  Chippewas,  instead  of 

(1)  Charlevoix.    Letters,  204. 

(2)  CreepeVa  Narrative.  Wiaconain  Hiat.  Coll. ,X,  50, 
The  Pottawattamies  were  faithful  to  the  French,  but  had 
now  abandoned  Wisconsin  for  Michigan. 


THE  GREAT  CONFEDERACY. 


107 


the  Foxes,  the  French,  in  17 19  had  re-estab- 
lished their  post  at  Chaquamegon  Bay,  not 
now,  as  formerly  at  its  head,  but  at  its  entrance 
upon  Madeleine  Island.'  They  had  also  en- 
deavored to  plant  a  post  somewhere  on  the 
banks  of  the  Upper  Mississippi.  But  their 
efforts  availed  nothing.  The  Foxes  held  the 
two  gateways  to  the  West,  and  still  monop- 
olized both  the  trade  and  friendship  of  the 
Sioux. 

Thanks  to  the  jealousies  which  from  the  first 
had  subsisted  between  Canada  and  Louisiana ' 
both  the  Sioux  and  the  Foxes  were  being 
amply  equipped  for  war.  The  commandants 
in  the  north  and  the  south,  were  disputing  as 
to  their  respective  jurisdictions,  and  were  all 
eager  to  issue  as  many  licenses  as  possible;  the 
couretirs  de  bois,  freed  from  restraint  by  these 
rivalries,  were  supplying  the  enemies  of  France 
with  guns,  powder  and  lead  in  abundance.  *  'This" 
the  Marquis  de  Vaudreuil  complained ^  "con- 
tributes more  than  all  else  to  foster  the  haught- 
iness of  the  Sioux  and  the  Foxes.  The  latter 
are  especially  intractable  and  have  a  very  bad 
influence    upon    the   former.       They   have   so 


(1)  Margry,  VI,  507. 

(2)  Memoire  d' Iberville.    Mavgry,  IV,  611. 

(3)  Lettre  de  M.  de  Vaudreuil,  Nov.  4,  1720. 
VI,  509-10. 


m 


Margry, 


io8 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


m 


I 

.11 


''If 

ml 


prejudiced  them  against  us  with  stories  of  our 
treacherous  designs  that  the  Sioux  turn  a  deaf 
ear  to  all  the  persuasions  of  our  officers." 

The  far-reaching  diplomacy  of  the  Foxes 
triumphed,  even  among  the  lowas  and  the 
tribes  along  the  Missouri  river.  The  govern- 
ment of  Louisiana  was  at  this  time  paying 
the  closest  attention  to  the  Missouri  country 
and  had  sent  troops  to  build  forts,  as  far  west 
as  the  mouth  of  the  Kansas  river,  to  check  the 
raids  of  the  Spaniards  from  New  Mexico.'  In 
1724,  M.  de  Bourgemont,  the  French  commis- 
sioner in  that  quarter,  communicated  to  the 
counsel  at  New  Orleans  an  unpleasant  discov- 
ery. "I  have  been  greatly  surprised,"  he 
writes,  "to  hear  that  the  Hotos  and  the  lowas 
have  made  a  firm  alliance  with  the  Foxes  and 
the  Sioux,  the  enemies  of  the  French."' 

He  claims  indeed  to  have  so  intimidated 
these  savages  that  they  had  promised  "not 
only  to  break  their  alliance  with  our  enemies, 
but  to  fight  them  and  do  whatever  I  command." 
One  cannot  but  suspect  this  sudden  repentance 
on  the  part  of  the  too  contrite  savages.  At  any 
rate,  the  French  were  greatly  alarmed.      "If 

(1)  Lettre  de  Bienville  au  Conaeil  de  Regence.    Margry, 
VI,  386. 

(2)  Lettre,  Jan.  11,  1724.    Margry,  VI,  466. 


THE  GREAT  CONFEDERACY. 


109 


these  nations  had  raised  the  hatchet  against 
us,"  continues  M.  de  Bourgemont,  "the  Mayas 
and  Paninkas  would  certainly  have  joined 
them.  I  doubt  even  whether  we  should  have 
been  able  to  sustain  ourselves  at  Fort  Chart- 
res. 

The  sinister  influence  of  the  Foxes  extended 
even  into  the  far  South.  There,  according  to 
Charlevoix,'  they  entered  into  alliance  with 
the  Chickasaws,  who,  gathering  around  them 
all  the  hostile  elements  on  the  Lower  Missis- 
sippi gained  famous  victories  over  the  French. 
It  was  this  diversion  that  saved  the  Foxes  from 
utter  ruin,  at  the  crisis  of  their  misfortunes. 

Such,  then,  was  this  great  confederation  built 
up  by  the  genius  of  the  Foxes,  one  which,  con- 
sidering the  vast  extent  of  territory  over  which 
it  stretched,  the  number  of  tribes  and  the  di- 
versity of  races  which  it  included,  is  utterly 
without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  Ameri- 
can Indians.  The  French  pretended  that  it 
was  the  result  of  the  intrigues  of  the  English 
whom  they  saw  everywhere,  as  people  see 
ghosts  in  a  graveyard.  But  there  is  no  proof 
nor  likelihood  of  any  active  co-operation  on 
the  part  of  the  English.  The  league  rose  as 
we  have  described,  the  spontaneous  work  of 

(1)  History  of  New  France,  V,  309. 


'■A 


no 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


savages,  who  desired  freedom  and  hated  the 
French. 

Nor  did  the  Foxes,  amidst  the  toils  of  diplo- 
macy, neglect  the  work  of  war.  Their  attacks 
upon  the  Illinois  went  on  unceasingly  until  all 
the  latter,  excepting  on^.;  ti 'be,  were  compelled 
to  flee  far  southward  and  seek  protection  under 
the  guns  of  Fort  Chartres.  The  tribe  which 
did  not  flee,  the  Peorias,  had  taken  refuge  on 
Rock  St.  Louis.  This  famous  rock,  the  whilom 
capital  of  La  Salle's  imaginary  kingdom,  was 
one  of  Nature's  fortresses.  Standing  on  the 
very  brink  of  the  Illinois  river,  it  rose  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  feet  above  the  water's 
level.  Its  front  over-hanging  the  river  and 
both  its  sides  were  steep  as  castle  walls;  but 
in  the  rear  was  a  narrow  path-way  by  which 
the  height  could  be  scaled.  The  level  summit, 
about  an  acre  in  extent,  gave  ample  room  for 
defense  and  afforded  a  grand  view  of  the  sur- 
rounding country — the  undulating  prairie,  the 
distant  hills,  the  shining  river  fenced  by  nar- 
row strips  of  forest. 

It  was  a  formidable  stronghold;  but  the  un- 
daunted Foxes  determined  to  take  it.  Unluck- 
ily we  know  nothing  of  the  details  of  the  siege, 
except  the  number  of  the  slain;  twenty  Peorias 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  the  besiegers. 


THE  GREAT  CONFEDERACY. 


Ill 


But  the  bare  figures  are  eloquent;  they  tell, 
not  of  a  mere  blockade,  but  of  fierce  assaults, 
storming  parties,  desperate  attempts  to  scale 
the  heights — the  old  story  of  the  Foxes'  fury 
and  reckless  courage.  Soon,  however,  word 
was  carried  to  the  commandant  at  Fort  Chart- 
res,  and  he  prepared  to  march  to  the  rescue  of 
his  allies,  with  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  forty 
Frenchmen  and  four  hundred  savages.  But 
before  he  arrived  upon  the  scene,  the  Foxes 
raised  the  siege  and  marched  away;  they  saw 
that  with  so  large  a  forc^,  threatening  their  rear, 
the  capture  of  the  Rock  was  impossible. 

The  attack  seems  a  piece  of  splendid  folly; 
but  in  the  end  its  wisdom  was  fully  justified. 
For,  as  soon  as  the  siege  was  over,  the  besieged 
Peorias  prepared  to  flee;  they  saw  themselves 
at  the  mercy  of  the  Foxes  from  whom  there 
was  no  security,  except  on  the  barren  summit 
of  Rock  St.  Louis;  and  they,  therefore,  deter- 
mined to  join  the  other  Illinois  tribes  in  the 
South.  And  no  persuasion  of  the  French 
could  keep  them  from  instantly  putting  this 
project  into  execution.  "It  was  a  grave  dis- 
aster for  the  French,"  Charlevoix  says.'  "For 
now,  that  there  was  nothing  to  check  the  raids 


(1)  History  of  New  France,  VI,  71. 


m 


112 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


of  the  Foxes,  communication  between  Canada 
and  Louisiana  became  much  less  practicable. 
The  French,  however,  made  every  effort  to 
keep  control  of  the  Illinois  river.  Not  long 
after  the  events  just  narrated,  Sieur  de  St.  Ange 
drew  a  large  body  of  the  Foxes  into  an  ambus- 
cade and  cut  them  to  pieces.  Other  of  their 
bands  met  with  a  similar  fate.  **But,"  writes 
Charlevoix,  "their  fury  increased  as  their 
forces  diminished.  On  every  side  they  have 
raised  up  new  enemies  against  us.  The  whole 
course  and  neighborhood  of  the  Mississippi  is 
infested  with  Indians  with  whom  we  have  no 
quarrel,  and  yet  who  give  to  the  French  no 
quarter. " 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


EXTERMINATION    BY    FAxMINE. 
1726-1728. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1726,  at  Green  Bay,  a 
grand    council  with    the  Sauks,  Winnebagoes 
and  Foxes  was  held  by  M.  de  Lignery,  with 
whom  were  D'Amariton,  the   commandant  of 
the  post,    and  Chardon,    its   missionary.      As 
usual  upon  such  occasions,   the  savages  were 
contrite    and    apologetic.       They  threw    the 
blame    for  the  past  upon    the  impetuosity  of 
their  young  warriors.    "It  is  not  without  diffi- 
culty," said  the  chief  of  the   Sauks,    **that  we 
have  gained  over  our  young  men."     The  Win- 
nebago chief  spoke  in   the  same  strain.     "We 
old  men  do  not  agree  with  our  young  men,  for 
if  they  sustained  us  they  would  never  do  any 
of  these  bad  things."     Then  he  began  to  ac- 
cuse the  Foxes.       "They  are    numerous,  my 
father.      It   is  they  who  invite  our  young  men 
to  do   as  they  do  for    the  fear  they  have   of 

them."' 
(1)  Caaa  Manuscripts.     Wis.  His.  Coll.,  Ill,  152,  3. 

8  ,.        .,  •;■:"• 


^"H*-"" 

.'i>.,-i'. 


114 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


On  all  sides  there  was  a  great  clamor  for 
peace,  "The  chiefs  of  the  nations  said,  with 
tears,  that  there  was  no  hope  except  in  obedi- 
ence." But  on  both  sides  it  was  all  a  farce — 
the  handshaking  of  pugilists  in  the  prize  ring, 
before  the  brutal  fight  begins.  The  French 
neither  expected  nor  desired  peace;  they  were 
bent  upon  the  destruction  of  the  Foxes. 

Even  before  the  convening  of  the  council, 
M.  de  Siette,  commanding  in  the  Illinois 
country,  had  written  to  M.  de  Lignery  "that 
the  Foxes  were  afraid  of  treachery,  and  that 
the  surest  mode  of  securing  our  object  is  to 
destroy  and  exterminate  them.'"  But  the 
French  authorities  hesitated,  not  from  any 
horror  of  such  butchery,  but  because  the  at- 
tempt would  be  dangerous  and  expensive. 
"We  agree  that  this  would  be  the  best  expedi- 
ent, but  we  maintain  that  nothing  can  be  more 
dangerous  or  more  prejudicial  to  the  colonies 
than  such  an  enterprise,  in  case  it  should  fail." 
The  King  of  France  wrote  the  governor  gen- 
eral to  the  same  effect — "for  there  is  the  un- 
certainty of  success,  and  the  consequences  of 
a  failure  might  be  frightful,  besides  the  enter- 
prise would  cause  a  heavy  expenditure."" 

(1)  Ibid.,  p.  148. 

(2)  Memoire  of  the  French  King\  to  Beauharnoia  cmd 
Dupuy,  on  the  Fox  War,  29th  April,  1727. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FAMINE. 


115 


nor  for 
I,  with 
obedi- 
farce — 
se  ring, 
French 
ey  were 

s. 

council, 
Illinois 
y  "that 
ind  that 
:ct  is  to 
But    the 
om    any 
the  at- 
pensive. 
expedi- 
be  more 
colonies 
uld  fail." 
nor  gen- 
the  un- 
lences  of 
le  enter- 


irnota 


The  French,  therefore  for  the  time  being, 
assumed  a  gentler  tone.  ?'or  the  sake  of  con- 
ciliation they  were  willing  even  to  forego  the 
pleasure  of  burning  their  prisoners.  "The 
Foxes  testified  to  me,"  writes  M.  de  Lignery, 
"that  some  of  their  nation  had  been  given  to 
the  French,  who  had  burned  them  upon  the 
spot;  this  had  completely  exasperated  them 
and  made  thjm  anxious  to  kill."  An  order 
was  now  issued  by  the  governor  general  to 
discontinue  this  practice;  but  in  the  order 
there  was  no  tinge  of  a  blush  for  the  past. 
Burning  men  alive  was  simply  inexpedient. 
"It  has  only  served  to  irritate  the  Fox  people 
and  arouse  the  strongest    hatred   against  us. "' 

A  peculiar  piety  lingered  about  this  ferocity 
of  the  French.  A  little  before  the  meeting 
of  the  council  at  Green  Bay,  the  governor  had 
addressed  a  deputation  of  Chippewas  at  Que- 
bec; and  had  condoled  with  them  on  account 
of  their  losses  in  war.  "But  it  appears  to 
me,"  he  added,  "that  Heaven  has  revenged 
you  for  your  losses,  since  it  has  given  you  the 
flesh  of  a  young  Fox  to  eat.""  What  shall  be 
said  of  a  religion  that  could  speak  of  the 
Supreme  Being  as  actively  engaged  in  provid- 

(1)  Ibid.,  p.  149. 
(JJ)  Ibid.,  p.  166. 


I^HH 


ii6 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


ing  younjr  and    tender  victims  for  a  cannibal 
feast? 

The  peace  of  1726  then  was  a  mere  mock- 
ery. It  was  a  temporary  truce  during  which 
the  French  were  busily  preparing  for  the 
slaughter  of  the  Foxes.  "In  the  meantime," 
writes  De  Lignery, '  "we  are  laboring  by  way 
of  La  Pointe  to  detach  the  Sioux  from  their 
alliance.  We  endeavor  also  to  stop  their 
passage  to  the  Iroquois,  those  Indians  having 
offered  them  an  asylum."  Thus  all  avenues  of 
escape,  either  to  the  east  or  the  west,  were  to 
be  closed  against  the  doomed  nation. 

To  carry  out  this  purpose  so  far  as  the  Sioux 
were  concerned,  the  French  had  been-  long 
trying  to  establish  a  trading  post  on  the  Mis- 
sissippi. But  the  art  and  fury  of  the  Foxes 
had  prevented.  In  1725,  Chardon,  missionary 
at  Green  Bay,  had  written  to  his  Superior  that 
it  was  impossible  to  send  an  expedition  or  mis- 
sionaries to  the  Sioux  on  account  of  the  Foxes 
who  declared  defiantly  that  they  would  never 
permit  the  French  to  pass  because  it  would 
greatly  diminish  their  own  trade;  and  they 
had  killed  several  Frenchmen  who  at  different 
times  had  attempted  it,"      But  now  that  the 

(1)  Letter  to  M.  de  Siette,  June  19,  1726.   Ibid.,  p.  154. 

(2)  Lettre  de  LongueU  et  Begon  au  Minister  de  Marine. 
Margry,  VI,  543. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FAMINE. 


ii; 


truce  was  established,  another  effort  was  made. 
A  trading  corporation,  the  company  of  the 
Sioux,  was  formed;  and  in  June,  1727,  an  ex- 
pedition commanded  by  La  Perriere  de 
Boucher,  of  infamous  memory,  with  a  few 
soldiers  and  traders  and  two  missionaries,  was 
dispatched  from  Montreal. 

The  voyagers  reached  Green  Bay  safely, 
thence  pushed  up  the  river  past  the  village  of 
the  Winnebagoes,  and  about  eight  leagues  be- 
yond came  in  sight  of  the  long,  low  cabins  of 
the  Foxes.  The  town  built  upon  a  slight 
eminence  by  the  river  side,  contained  —  accord- 
ing to  Inignas,  one  of  the  missionaries,  who 
gives  an  account  of  the  voyage' — only  two 
hundred  warriors.  But  it  fairly  swarmed  with 
boys  from  ten  to  fourteen  years  of  age  who 
would  soon  be  able  to  fill  the  places  of  the 
countless  braves  slain  in  the  long  warfare 
against  the  French. 

The  little  party  drew  near  to  the  town  with 
many  misgivings;  for  this  was  the  critical  point 
of  their  journey.  But  peace  had  been  recently 
established,  and  the  savages  were  on  their  good 
behavior.  "Of  all  nations,  the  Foxes  are  the 
most  dreaded  by  the  French,"  Guignas  says, 
"but  we  found  in  them   nothing  to  fear.     As 

(1)  Lettre  a  Beauharnois.    Margry,  VI,  654. 


Il8 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


soon  as  our  canoes  touched  the  shore  they 
came  to  us  with  their  pipes  lighted,  although 
it  was  raining  heavily.  And  everybody 
smoked." 

A  council  was  called;  the  French  were  read- 
ily permitted  to  proceed,  and  went  on  their 
way  rejoicing,  They  soon  arrived  at  Lake 
Pepin.  There,  at  about  the  middle  of  the 
west  side  of  the  lake,  upon  a  low  spit  of  sand 
nearly  opposite  to  the  famous  Maiden  Rock, 
they  built  Fort  Beauharnois. '  So  much  at  least, 
the  French  had  gained  by  their  treaty  of  peace 
with  the  "faithless  Foxes." 

This  accomplished,  the  French  threw  aside 
the  mask,  declaring  that  peace  was  no  longer 
possible.  They  claimed  that  war  parties  were 
still  going  from  Wisconsin  against  the  Illinois. 
They  were  alarmed  at  the  encroachments  of 
the  English  who  had  recently  built  a  stone  fort 
at  Oswego,  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  were  said  to 
be  intriguing  with  the  Indians  for  the  expulsion 
of  the  French  from  the  West.  The  Foxes,  it 
was  reported,  had  accepted  the  belts  of  the 
English,  and  had  declared  that  they  would  not 
suffer  the  French  to  remain  in  their  country. 
*'Thc  colony,"  wrote  the  governor  and  intend- 


(1)  Noill.     Early   Wisconsin  Exploration. 
Coll.,  X,  302.    Also  Draper,  Ibid.,  p.  371. 


Wis.  Hist. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FAMINE. 


119 


;  they 
though 
rybody 

e  read- 
1  their 
t  Lake 
of  the 
)f  sand 
Rock, 
t  least, 
f  peace 

y  aside 
longer 
^s  were 
llinois. 
ents  of 
)ne  fort 
said  to 
pulsion 
Dxes,  it 
of  the 
uld  not 
ountry. 
intend- 

'i8.  Hist. 


ant  to  the  king,  "is  reduced  to  an  extremity 
which  justifies  war." 

The  colonial  authorities  were  so  eager  to  begin 
their  fiendish  crusade  that  they  did  not  even 
wait  for  the  approval  of  the  king;  and  for  this 
they  were  censured  by  the  home  government. 
But  they  amply  justified  themselves  on  two 
grounds.  First;  "it  was  aiready  known  that 
the  court  had  nothing  so  much  at  heart  as 
the  destruction  of  the  Foxes."'  Secondly; 
"the  intrigues  of  the  English  and  thewar  part- 
ies which  the  Foxes  were  raising  every  day  did 
not  allow  them  to  defer  this  expedition  for  a 
year  without  endangering  the  loss  of  the  whole 
country.  "  = 

The  preparations  for  the  campaign  were  car- 
ried on  with  the  utmost  secrecy.  The  Cana- 
dians and  friendly  Indians  were  notified  to  hold 
themselves  in  readiness  for  a  movement  the 
next  spring  against  the  new  English  fort  at 
Oswego;  and  until  the  last  moment  they  knew 
nothing  of  their  real  destination.  "It  is  the 
intention,"  wrote  De  Beauharnois  to  the  king, 


(1)  Ca»»  Manuscript.     Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  Ill,  164. 

(2)  Memoire  of  De  Beauharnois.  Smith,  History  of 
Wisconsin,  I,  343.  Note.  Just  before  the  starting  of  the 
expedition,  the  Icing  wrote:  '  'His  Majesty  is  persuaded  of 
the  necessity  of  destroying  the  Fox  nation."  Letter  of  the 
king,  14  May,  1728.    N.  Y.  Documents,  IX,  1005. 


-s*^ 


I20 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


"to  make  this  war  a  brilliant  affair;  and  it  is 
therefore  of  the  utmost  importance  that  the 
Foxes  should  not  be  informed  of  the  design."' 

The  expedition,  commanded  by  M.  de  Lig- 
nery,  left  Montreal  on  the  5th  of  June,  1728. 
It  was  composed  of  four  hundred  Frenchmen 
and  nearly  nine  hundred  savages  from  many 
nations,  but  chiefly  converted  Iroquois  and 
Hurons.  A  large  re-enforcement  of  Indians 
was  expected  at  Mackinac.  The  commandant 
in  the  Illinois  country  had  also  been  ordered 
to  meet  the  expedition  at  Green  Bay  with  all 
his  force,  French  and  Indian.'  All  this  against 
a  handful  of  savages  that  did  not  now  prob- 
ably number  five  hundred  fighting  men. 

The  army  toiled  painfully  over  the  usual 
route  by  way  of  the  Ottawa  river.  In  strug- 
gling through  the  wilderness,  by  narrow  trails 
and  difficult  portages  the  force  was-  necessarily 
split  into  small  detachments;  but  by  July  26th, 
all  had  reached  the  rendezvous  on  the  shore  of 
Lake  Huron.  Here  mass  was  celebrated  be- 
fore the  reunited  army.  The  place  of  worship 
was  a  green  prairie,  smooth  as  a  temple  floor, 
walled  in  upon  the  one  side  by  the  dim  arches 
of  the  forest,  on  the  other  by  the  glistening 

(1)  Wi8.  Hist.  Coll.,  Ill,  163  and  164. 

(2)  Letter  to  M.  de  Siette,  Aug.  20, 1727.    Ibid.,  163. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FAMINE. 


121 


waters  of  the  inland  sea.  In  the  center  stood 
three  priests  clad  in  the  stately  vestments  of 
their  office;  before  them  an  altar  transported 
with  infinite  pains  through  the  wilderness. 
Roundabout  was  a  motley  host.  Soldiers  in  uni- 
form and  Canadian  hunters  in  their  many- 
colored  garb  stood  beneath  the  banners  of 
France;  scantily  costumed  savages  crouched 
or  lay  flat  on  the  ground,  with  eyes  and  ears 
intent  upon  the  ** great  war  medicine"  of  the 
French.  After  these  pious  exercises  the  mul- 
titude set  out  with  new  ardor  to  exterminate 
the  Foxes. 

Mackinac  was  soon  reached  and  here  ensued 
an  inexplicable  delay.  Everything  depended 
upon  a  swift,  unexpected  swooping  down  upon 
the  enemy;  and  yet  M.  de  Lignery  loitered 
for  nine  days.  The  whole  army  murmured; 
the  Indians,  always  restless  when  on  the  war- 
path, were  almost  frantic  over  the  detention. 
No  excuse  was  ever  offered  for  thus  lingering 
except  that  "M.  de  Lignery  was  too  ill  to  go 
on."  But  a  more  probable  explanation  is  sug- 
gested by  a  statement  made  by  Montcalm  con- 
cerning this  officer  when  long  afterward  he  was 
in  command  at  Fort  Duquesne:  "the  Indians 
do  not  like  M.  de  Lignery  who  is  drunk  every 
day."- 

(1)  Parkman.    Montcalm  and  Wolfe,  II,  169. 


122 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


The  expedition  finally  got  under  way,  and 
on  the  15th  of  August  reached  the  abode  of 
the  Menominees,  on  the  river  of  the  same 
name.  "This  people,"  writes  the  chaplain  of 
the  army,'  "are  some  of  the  tallest  and  hand- 
somest men  in  Canada."  He  coolly  adds,  that 
"we  landed  with  a  view  to  provoke  them  to 
oppose  our  descent;  they  fell  into  the  trap  and 
were  entirely  defeated." 

After  this  brilliant  exploit,  the  French  moved 
on  to  within  eight  or  ten  miles  of  the  village 
of  the  Sauks  at  Green  Bay.  Here  the  expedi- 
tion was  halted  until  night,  and  then  paddled 
silently  on  under  cover  of  the  darkness.  The 
Sauk  village  was  reached  about  midnight;  a 
part  of  the  force  was  sent  around  to  the  rear 
to  surround  the  sleeping  foe;  the  rest  made  a 
brave  dash  on  the  front.  Of  course,  the  in- 
habitants amply  warned,  had  fled.  Four  poor 
creatures,  however,  were  found  lurking  in  the 
cabins;  and  these  were  handed  over  to  the 
French  Indians,  who  "made  them  suffer  the 
pain  of  twenty  deaths  before  depriving  them  of 
life."  ^ 

Then  the  invaders  passed  up  the  river  to  the 
town  of  the  Winnebagoes.      "Our  people  were 


(1)  Crespel. 
Coll.,  X,  50. 


Expedition  against  the  Foxes.     Wis.  His. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FAMINE. 


123 


ay,  and 
.bode  of 
le  same 
plain  of 
d  hand- 
Ids,  that 
them  to 
rap  and 

h  moved 
:  village 

expedi- 

paddled 

,s.      The 

night;  a 

the  rear 

made  a 
,  the  in- 
our  poor 
ig  in  the 
to  the 
jffer  the 

them  of 

er  to  the 
pie  were 

Wis.  His. 


well  disposed  to  destroy  those  that  might  be 
found  there,  but  the  flight  of  the  inhabitants 
saved  them  and  we  could  only  burn  their  huts 
and  destroy  the  harvest  of  Indian  corn  on 
which  they  subsist." 

Then,  after  celebrating  mass,  these  devout 
vandals  moved  on  to  the  chief  settlement  of 
the  Foxes.  But  the  savages,  unwilling  to  be 
exterminated,  had  fled  four  days  before.  An 
old  man,  two  women  and  a  girl  were  captured 
however,  and  burned  at  a  slow  fire. 

The  French  still  paddled  up  the  river  until 
they  reached  another  town  of  the  enemy  and 
found  this  too,  a  solitude.  Their  savage  allies  re- 
fused to  go  further,  saying  that  the  fugitives  hav- 
ing four  days  the  start,  could  not  ^"  overtaken. 
Winter,  also,  was  rapidly  approaching  and  the 
French  were  four  hundred  and  fifty  leagues 
from  home;  outwitted  and  foiled,  they  were 
compelled  to  return.  On  their  way  back  they 
demolished  the  fort  at  Green  Bay,  believing 
that  it  could  not  be  held  any  longer;  took 
with  them  its  garrison  and  missionary  and  has- 
tened homeward. 

Was  then  the  tiger  to  be  baulked  of  his 
prey.'  No,  malignity  has  many  resources. 
Before  setting  o"t  on  their  return  the  French 
army  had  **  employed   several  days  in  laying 


..i,^ 


124 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


waste  the  country,  to  deprive  the  enemy  of 
the  means  of  subsistence."  Nothing  escaped 
them.  They  burned  the  villages,  they  "des- 
troyed all  that  they  could  find  in  the  fields, 
Indian  corn,  peas,  beans  and  gourds,  of  all 
which  the  savages  had  great  abundance."' 
Thus  the  Foxes,  against  whom  all  other  arts 
had  failed,  were  left  to  the  mercies  of  winter 
and  starvation. 

It  seems,  too,  as  if  that  mysterious  and  ma- 
lign element,  so  often  found  in  Nature,  had 
come  to  the  aid  of  human  hate.  The  next 
winter,  according  to  the  chief  historian  of  New 
France,  was  one  of  unusual  severity;  such  in- 
tensity of  cold  had  hardly  ever  been  known 
since  the  first  settlement  of  Canada.''  To  this, 
thousands  of  Fox  women  and  children  were 
left  exposed,  without  shelter  or  food.  The 
lambs  had  been  shorn  but  the  winds  were  not 
tempered. 

The  glee  of  the  French  was  great. 
"Neither  the  glory  nor  the  arms  of  the  king 
will  suffer  by  this  expedition,"  the  official  dis- 
patch declares.  The  more  misery,  it  seemed 
to  be  thought,  the  more  glory  for  the  king; 

(1)  Ibid.,  53. 

(2)  Ferland,  Cours  d  Hiatorie  du  Canada,  II,  435.  Fer- 
land  mentions  this  without  any  reference  to  the  attempted 
starvation  of  the  Foxes. 


lemy  of 
escaped 
7  "des- 
e  fields, 
,  of  all 
iance."' 
:her  arts 
\  winter 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FAMINE.  125 

and  therefore  the  mathematical  Frenchmen 
carefully  computed  the  number  of  the  perish- 
ing. ''It  is  certain,"  wrote  the  Marquis  de 
Beauharnois,  triumphantly,  ''that  one  half  of 
these  nations  who  number  four  thousand  souls, 
will  die  of  hunger,  and  that  the  rest  will  C3me 
in  and  sue  for  mercy." 


and  ma- 
ire,  had 
he  next 
of  New 
;uch  in- 
known 
To  this, 
en  were 
i.  The 
'ere  not 

great. 

he  king 

cial  dis- 

seemed 

lie  king; 

135.    Fer- 
ittempted 


CHAPTER  IX. 


EXTERMINATION   BY   FIRE. 
1728 -1736. 

In  the  first  days  of  September,  1728,  four 
thousand  exiles,  their  homes  burned  and  their 
fields  laid  waste,  were  fleeing  for  their  lives 
along  the  Wisconsin.  The  women  and  chil- 
dren were  carried  in  canoes,  but  the  warriors 
traveled  on  foot,  struggling  through  the  thick- 
ets and  across  the  swamps  and  sands  that 
lined  the  river.'  Reaching  the  Mississippi, 
they  turned  to  the  North,  and  very  soon  a  host 
of  savages,  wild  with  hunger  and  with  rage, 
were  peering  through  the  leafy  forests  that 
rose  above  Fort  Beauharnois  on  Lake  Pepin. 
They  had  come  expecting  aid  in  the  hour  of 
their  distress,  from  their  friends  and  allies,  the 
Sioux.  But  they  found,  as  countless  other  poor 
wretches  have  found,  that  friendships  are  like 
reeds;  they  must  not  be  leaned  on  too  heavily. 
The  Sioux  had  been  won  over  to  the  French 
by  the  planting  of  the  trading  post  in  their 
midst  the  year  before;  and  they  turned  a  deaf 
ear  to  the  entreaties  and   reproaches  of  their 

(1)  Lettre  au  Miniatre  de  Marine,  Oct.,  1729.    Margry, 
VI,  561. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


127 


old  confederates.  "There  is  no  doubt,"  the 
governor  general  wrote  to  the  colonial  minister, ' 
•'that  the  Foxes  would  have  found  an  asylum 
with  the  Sioux,  if  the  French  fort  had  not 
been  established  there." 

Thus  the  confederacy  formed  by  the  Foxes 
with  so  much  pains  and  skill  began  to  crumble; 
not  long  after,  these  hapless  savages  were  also 
deserted  by  their  oldest  and  closest  allies,  the 
Mascoutins  and  Kickapoos.  On  the  approach 
of  the  terrible  Foxes,  Fort  Beauharnois  had 
been  temporarily  abandoned,  and  a  large  part 
of  its  garrison,  including  Guignas,  the  mission- 
ary, had  fled  southward,  hoping  to  find  refuge 
among  the  Illinois,  nearly  six  hundred  miles 
away.  But  they  were  intercepted  in  their 
flight  by  the  Mascoutins,  who  had  been  driven 
from  Wisconsin  into  Northeastern  Iowa.  At 
first  the  captives  were  very  roughly  handled,  and 
Guignas  narrowly  escaped  being  burned  alive, 
According  to  his  own  account,  however,  he 
finally  so  ingratiated  himself  with  the  savages 
that  they  released  him  after  five  months  of 
captivity,  and  sent  with  him  envoys  to  the 
Illinois  and  the  French  to  sue  for  peace." 

(1)  Lettre  au  Miniatre  de  Marine,  Oct.  1729.     Margry 
VI,  561. 

(2)  Lettres  Ediflantea,  I,  771.    Lettre  du  Pe're  Le  Petit 
12  Juillet,  1730. 


128 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


Probably  more  potent  reasons  than  the 
wheedling  of  the  Jesuit,  influenced  the  Mas- 
coutins.  At  any  rate  it  is  certain  that  in  the 
spring  of  1729,  they  declared  war  against  the 
Foxes.'  The  Sauks  also  fell  away  and  re- 
turned submissively  to  their  old  home  at  Green 
Bay.  The  Winnebagoes  having  fled  from  their 
devastated  land,  found  refuge  among  the  Sioux, 
and  for  the  next  nine  years  dwelt  peacefully 
around  Fort  Beauharnois.'  Under  the  press- 
ure of  cajolery  and  violence  the  league  had 
gone  to  pieces;  the  Foxes  were  left  alone  to 
face  the  storm  of  French  vengeance. 

Driven  away  by  the  Sioux,  they  found  some 
sort  of  an  asylum  in  the  land  of  the  lowas.^  But 
subdued  by  hunger  and  cold,  crushed  by  the 
desertion  of  all  their  allies,  longing  for  home, 
they  returned  the  next  season  to  Wisconsin. 
They  were  broken  in  spirit,  willing  to  yield 
everything  to  the  insatiable  French.  **The 
Foxes  are  begging  for  peace,"  Beauharnois 
wrote  triumphantly  to  the  King."     But  their 

(1)  Beauharnois  to  the  Minister,  May  19,  1729.  Cana 
dian  Archives,  1886,  p.  xcv. 

(2)  Memoir  upon  the  Indians  of  Canada,  1736.    New 
York  Coll.  Docs.,  X,  p.  xcv.  Also  Margry,  VI,  575. 

(3)  Memoir  of  Beauharnois,  1729.    Smith's  Hist.  Wis- 
consin, 344. 

(4)  Letter  to  the  minister,    Aug.   17,    1729.     Canadian 
Archives,  1886,  p.  xcv. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


129 


ti    the 
Mas- 
in  the 
1st  the 
nd  re- 
Green 
a  their 
Sioux, 
cefully 
press- 
Lie  had 
one  to 

d  some 

'But 

by  the 

home, 

consin. 

yield 

♦'The 

harnois 

t  their 

).  Cana 


New 
tat.  Wi8- 


J6. 


lanadian 


peaceful  proposal  was  answered  only  by  a  fierce 
assault  upon  one  of  their  encampments  by  a 
body  of  French  Indians.' 

Somewhat  later,  probably  about  the  close  of 
1729,  another  expedition,  composed  of  Ottawas, 
Chippewas,  Menominees  and  Winnebagoes.was 
sent  against  the  returning  exiles,  and  succeed- 
ed in  ambuscading  a  detachment  of  them.  The 
latter  had  only  eighty  warriors;  but  they  fought 
with  their  wonted  valor,  until  all  excepting 
three  were  either  killed  or  captured.  Three 
hundred  women  and  childre*n  were  also  taken 
prisoners.      All  were  burned  to  death. 

The  French  authorities  were  delighted. 
Beauharnois  wrote  to  the  minister  exultantly: 
"I  communicate  this  news  with  .so  much  the 
more  pleasure  because  there  is  no  doubt  of  it."' 

The  French  used  to  apologize  for  their 
burning  of  prisoners  as  a  lesson  taught  them 
by  the  savages.  '  'Among  the  wolves  we  have 
learned  to  howl,"  wrote  Cadillac  flippantly.* 
But  the  savages  burned  men  —  conceiving  that 
death  at  the  stake  was  that  final  and  supreme 
test  of  courage  from  which  no  brave  man  ought 
to  shrink.     The   burning  of  women  and   chil- 

(1)  Letter  of  Oct.  26,  1729.  Ibid.,  p.  xcvii  .Also  N.  Y. 
Coll.  Does.,  IX,  1017. 

(2)  Relation,  etc.  Margry,  Y,  100. 
9 


I30 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


drcn,  however,  subserved  no  such  purpose, 
and  was  something  quite  unknown  to  the  prim- 
itive red  man.  He  regarded  children,  especially, 
with  so  passionate  and  indulgent  a  love  that  his 
indignation  was  aroused  by  even  the  sight  of  the 
whippings  and  other  severities  visited  upon  the 
young  in  the  white  man's  settlements;  and  to 
torture  the  little  ones  at  the  stake  was  a  devel- 
opment of  malignity  far  beyond  the  reach  of 
his  unprogressive  nature.  That  was  the  in- 
vention of  the  French — one  of  those  depths  of 
infamy  into  which*  it  would  seem  that  only  the 
civilized  can  sink,  as  a  stone  descends  with  the 
greater  force  when  it  falls  from  the  greater 
height. 

Despite  these  barbarities  on  the  part  of  their 
enemies,  the  Foxes  did  not  yet  despair  of 
peace.  Not  long  after  the  burning  of  the 
three  hundred  women  and  children,  the  great 
chief  of  the  nation  made  his  way  through  the 
wilderness  in  the  depth  of  winter,  to  the  dis- 
tant post  of  St  Joseph  in  southern  Michigan. 
•'I  look  upon  myself  as  dead,"  he  said  to  the 
commandant  there.  Asking  for  nothing  ex- 
cept the  lives  of  the  women  and  children,  he 
promised  that  this  people  would  send  deputies  to 
Montreal  the  next  spring  to  sue  for  mercy. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


131 


(urpose, 

le  prim- 

)ecially, 

that  his 

ht  of  the 

ipon  the 

;;  and  to 

a  devel- 

reach  of 

the   in- 

lepths  of 

only  the 

i  with  the 

p   greater 

•t  of  their 
espair  of 
g  of  the 
he  great 
ough  the 
the  dis- 
^ichigan. 
d  to  the 
hing  ex- 
Idren,  he 
eputies  to 
lercy. 


But  the  doomed  nation  might  as  well  have 
appealed  to  the  pity  of  the  winds.  In  March, 
1730,  they  were  again  attacked  by  a  force  un- 
der the  command  of  the  afterwards  noted 
Marin.  "An  action  ensued  of  the  warmest 
kind,  and  very  well  supported,"  says  the  offi- 
cial dispatch.      Beyond  that  we  know  nothing. 

One  thing  about  this  transaction,  however, 
is  noteworthy.  The  French  now  began,  ap- 
parently, to  feel  some  slight  sense  of  shame 
over  this  persistent  malignity  toward  a  foe 
suing  for  mercy;  and  they  tried  to  excuse 
themselves  by  casting  the  blame  upon  their 
savage  allies.  "This  expedition  was  under- 
taken," we  are  told,  "at  the  earnest  solicita- 
tion of  the  Indians." 

But  if  any  one  doubts  who  were  really  at  the 
bottom  of  these  atrocities  let  him  read  how 
these  same  Ottawas  were  induced  by  the 
French  to  massacre  the  forty  Iroquois  deputies 
at  Mackinaw,  in  1695.  At  first  the  Ottawas 
sturdily  refused  to  thus  violate  the  law  of  na- 
tions which  was  just  as  sacred  among  the 
savage  as  the  civilized;  but  they  were  plied 
with  liquor  by  the  French  until  they  became  a 
mere  mob  of  drunken  madmen,  and  in  this 
condition  they  fell  upon  the  unsuspecting  dep- 
uties and  slew  them  all.     Frontenac,  then  gov- 


132 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


ernor,  narrates  all  this  without  the  tinge  of  a 
blush,  and  adds  boastfully:  "Thus  we  have 
entirely  broken  up  the  inception  of  peace."' 

Two  months  after  Marin's  departure,  another 
exterminating  expedition,  composed  of  five 
hundred  and  fifty  Indians  and  fifty  Frenchmen, 
set  out  from  Mackinaw.  Its  commander,  Du 
Buisson,  declared  that  "all  the  nations  of  the 
upper  country  are  very  much  excited  against 
the  Foxes;  large  bodies  of  Indians  have  col- 
lected and  urged  me  to  go  at  their  head  to  fall 
upon  that  people  and  destroy  them."  But  the 
statement,  doubtless,  is  as  false  as  those  which 
he  made,  at  the  time  of  the  betrayal  and  mas- 
sacre of  the  Foxes  at  Detroit,  in  1712. 

At  any  rate,  Du  Buisson  and  his  allies  were 
foiled  of  their  prey.  Even  before  they  were 
ready  to  start,  the  enemy  had  fled  southward 
beyond  reach  of  pursuit. 

When  the  curtain  next  rises  upon  the 
wretched  fugitives,  we  find  them  gathered 
on  t^e  Illinois  river,  not  far  from  Rock  St. 
Louis,  and  there  fortifying  themselves  as  for  a 
despei  ite  resistance.  Word  was  quickly  sent 
to  all  the  commandants  in  that  part  of  the 
West  —  St.  Ange  in  the  country  of  the  Illinois, 
De  Noyelles  among  the  Miamis  in  Indiana,  De 

(1)  Narrative  of  1696-6.     New   York  Col.  Docta.,  IX, 
640.  • 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


133 


Villiers  at  Fort  St.  Joseph  in  Michigan;  and 
they  all  assembled  their  forces  and  hastened 
to  the  spot,  determined  to  sweep  the  unhappy 
Foxes  from  the  earth.  De  Villiers  took  com- 
mand of  the  combined  forces  which  amounted 
to  eleven  hundred  Indians  and  one  hundred 
and  seventy  Frenchmen. 

The  battle  began  on  the  19th  of  August, 
1730,  and  lasted  twenty-two  days.  The  Foxes 
had  chosen  an  admirable  position  in  a  piece  of 
woods  upon  a  gentle  slope  by  the  side  of  a 
small  river.  Although  outnumbered  four  to 
one,  they  fought  with  their  usual  dash  and 
valor,  making  many  desperate  sorties,  but  were 
each  time  driven  back  by  the  overwhelming 
numbers  of  the  enemy.  The  French,  on  their 
part,  dug  trenches,  and  proceeded  with  all  the 
caution  they  had  been  taught  by  many  cam- 
paigns again.st  these  redoubtable  foes.' 

(1)  Ferland,  Cours  d'Histoire  du  Canada,  II,  436,  aeq. 
To  this  historian'8  heretofore  unnoticed  account,  I  am  in- 
debted for  ray  naiTative  of  this  battle.  Ferland,  unfortu- 
nately, never  gives  his  authorities;  but  he  is  known  to 
have  been  an  untiring  dolver  among  the  manuscripts  in  the 
Archives  at  Paris.  The  slight  reference  to  De  Villiers'  ex- 
pedition,  presei-ved  in  the  New  York  Col.  Docts.,  so  far  as 
it  goes,  corroborates  the  account  of  Ferland.  And  the 
Ca.iadian  Archives  Report,  188(5,  p.  c,  lists  a  dispatch 
aboat  "  the  crushing  defeat  of  the  Renardsby  De  Villiers.'' 
Letter  of  Beauharnois  and  Hocquart  to  the  Minister ^ 
Nov.  1,  1730. 


134 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


After  a  while  the  supply  of  food  gave  out 
and  famine  reigned  in  both  camps.  The  Foxes 
and  the  French,  the  oppressed  and  the  op- 
pressor, suffered  alike  under  the  calm,  cruel 
impartiality  of  nature,  Two  hundred  Illinois 
Indians  deserted.  But  the  French  persevered, 
and  began  the  construction  of  a  fort  to  prevent 
the  besieged  from  going  to  the  river  for  water. 
Further  resistance  now  seemed  impossible. 

But  on  the  8th  of  September,  a  violent  storm 
arose,  accompanied  by  heavy  thunder  and  tor- 
rents of  rain.  The  following  night  was  rainy, 
dark  and  cold;  and  under  its  cover,  the  Foxes 
stole  away  from  their  fort.  Before  they  had 
gone  far,  the  crying  of  their  children  betrayed 
them.  But  the  French  did  not  dare  to  attack 
them  amidst  a  darkness  so  dense  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  distinguish  friend  from  foe;  in  the 
morning,  however,  they  set  out  in  hot  pursuit. 

The  fugitives  marched  with  the  women, 
children  and  old  men  at  the  head,  the  warriors 
in  the  rear  to  protect  their  flight;  thus  cum- 
bered they  advanced  but  slowly  and  were  soon 
overtaken.  The  warriors  were  without  ammuni- 
tion,' enveloped   on  every  side  by  a  vastly  su- 

(1)  Even  during  the  siege,  tiie  Foxes  hod  been  supplied 
wltli  ammunition,  only  by  the  help  of  some  of  the  French  al- 
lies viho  secretly  favored  them.  Ferland,  Couth  d'His- 
torie,  II. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


135 


ave  out 
e  Foxes 
the  op- 
n,   cruel 

Illinois 

severed, 

prevent 

)r  water. 

ible. 

nt  storm 
and  tor- 
as  rainy, 
le  Foxes 
they  had 
betrayed 
;o  attack 
t  was  im- 
e;   in  the 

pursuit. 

women, 

warriors 
lus  cum- 
/ere  soon 
ammuni- 
/astly  su- 

en  supplied 
B  French  al- 
tura  d'Hia- 


perior  and  well-armed  force,  entangled  in 
crowds  of  helpless  .vomen  and  children  whom 
they  were  striving  to  defend.  Under  such 
conditions  the  battle  soon  became  a  massacre. 
Only  fifty  or  sixty  men  escaped;  three  hundred 
"were  killed  or  burned  after  being  taken  pris- 
oners, "  Six  hundred  women  and  children  also 
perished  either  under  the  tomahawk  or  by 
fire. 

The  proportion  of  women  and  children  to 
that  of  men  slaughtered  is  here  not  so  great  as 
in  previous  massacres.  The  reason  was  that 
many  of  the  savages,  notably  the  Miamis  and 
Sauks,  recoiled  from  this  wholesale  murdering 
of  the  defenseless.  The  French  complained 
that  even  during  the  siege,  "their  allies,  un- 
der various  pretexts,  helped  a  large  number  of 
the  women  and  children  to  escape  from  the 
fort  and  thus  saved  them  from  the  massacre  of 
their  nation."" 

Still  nine  hundred  men  and  women  had  been 
massacred,  either  by  the  knife  or  by  the  slower 
and  more  horrible  doom  of  fire;  and  despite 
the  escape  of  a  few,  the  French  were  cheerful. 
"Behold,"  wrote  the  Canadian  governor  to  the 

(1)  N.  Y.  Col.  Documenta,  IX.    This  dispatch  puts  the 
number  at  200,  Ferland  at  300. 

(2)  Ferland,  II,  438. 


136 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


king,   "a  nation   humiliated  in   such  a  fashion 
that  they  will  nevermore  trouble  the  earth."  ' 

Happily  we  are  now  permitted  a  slight 
breathing-spell  midst  this  recital  of  horrors. 
The  curtain  suddenly  falls,  for  two  years,  upon 
the  wanderings  and  miseries  of  the  indomitable 
Foxes.  There  is  indeed  one  report  of  an  at- 
tack made  upon  them  by  the  young  warriors 
of  Illinois,^  and  other  similar  enterprises  arc 
vaguely  mentioned.^  But  in  the  main  it  is  an 
interval  of  peace.  The  French  availed  them- 
selves of  it  to  re-establish  the  fort  on  Lake 
Pepin  which  they  had  been  compelled  to  aban- 
don;* and  rejoiced  in  other  "happy  results 
from  the  defeat  of  the  Foxes. "  s 

When,  on  the  17th  of  October,  1732,  the 
curtain  again  rises,  the  remnant  of  the  Foxes 
are  dwelling  peaceably  upon  the  borders  of 
the  Wisconsin.  But  the  wrath  of  the  implaca- 
ble French  had  flamed  forth  anew.  A  bodv 
of   Christian  Iroquois  from  the  St.  Lawrence, 

(1)  M.  de  Beauharnois  ^a  M.  de  Maurepaa,    Ibid.,     18 
Mar.,  1731. 

(2)  Beauharnois  to  the  Minister,  Oct.  12,  1731.     Cana- 
dian Archives.  1886,  p.  cvii. 

(3)  Forland,  11,439. 

(4)  Lettre  de  Beauharnois.    Mai'gry,  VI,  569. 

(5)  Ibid.     Canadian  Archives,  cviic 


m  \ 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


137 


fashion 
■th."' 

I  slight 
horrors, 
-s,  upon 
)mitablc 
f  an  at- 
vvarriors 
ises  arc 
I  it  is  an 
d  them- 
on  Lake 
to  aban- 
results 

732,  the 
Foxes 
rders  of 
implaca- 
A  body 
iwrence, 

Ibid.,    18 

I.     Carta- 


and  of  Hurons  from  Detroit,  had  been  dis- 
patched from  the  latter  place  to  once  more 
exterminate  the  people  who  had  been  so  piti- 
lessly pursued  for  twenty  years.  The  invaders 
pushed  on  until  they  reached  the  basin  of  the 
Wisconsin,  Ascending  one  day  the  summit 
of  a  hill,  they  looked  down  and  beheld  their 
prey  dwelling  quietly  in  the  vale  beneath.  It 
was  the  work  of  but  a  moment  to  discharge 
their  guns,  and  tomahawk  in  hand  swoop  down 
upon  the  village.  The  Foxes  expecting  no 
danger  were  but  poorly  prepared  for  battle, 
and  after  a  short  contest  three  hundred  of 
them  —  men,  women  and  children  —  were  cap- 
tured and  massacred.' 

The  rest  dispersed  among  the  neighboring 
nations.  One  party,  consisting  of  thirty  or 
forty  men  and  as  many  women,  wended  their 
way  in  despair  to  Green  Bay  and  threw  them- 
selves upon  the  mercy  of  the  French  command- 
ant, De  Villiers.  In  this  party  was  the  grand 
chief  of  the  Foxes,  Kiala,  who  was  soon  sent 
to  Quebec,  and  thence  hurried  off  into  slavery 
under  the  blazing  skies  of  Martinique.  His 
wife  followed  him  as  far  as  Quebec;  but  there 

(1)  Ferland,  II,  438,  alone  gives  the  nan-ative  of  this  ex- 
pedition. But  lie  is  very  fully  corroborated  by  the  lists 
and  abstracts  of  despatches  in  the  Report  of  Canadian 
Archives,  1886,  p.  cxi,  et  neq.    No  less  than  five  are  given* 


'itil 


.lilll 


138 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


I 


she  lingered  for  some  time,  distracted  between 
her  wifely  affection  and  her  horror  of  bondage. 
At  last  woman's  love  conquered,  and  she  went 
to  join  her  husband  in  the  slave-gang. 

The  historian  may  well  rejoice  in  this  little 
bit  of  savage  romance,  sad  but  sweet,  that 
comes  to  relieve  the  blackness  of  all  these  civ- 
ilized iniquities. 

The  other  fugitives  who  fled  to  Green  Bay 
were  more  fortunate;  for  nearly  a  year  they 
were  permitted  to  remain  undisturbed  in  the 
village  of  the  Sauks,  across  the  river  from  the 
fort.  But  the  French  government  finally  de- 
termined to  demand  their  surrender;  and  to 
enforce  this  demand,  M.  de  Repentigny,  the 
commandant  at  Mackinaw,  was  secretly  sent 
with  sixty  Frenchmen  and  two  hundred  In- 
dians to  the  aid  of  De  Villiers,  who  had  been 
promoted  to  the  command  at  Green  Bay;  after 
a  consultation  between  the  two  officers,  this 
force  was  ordered  to  lie  concealed  about  a  mile 
from  the  fort  until  three  gun-shots  should  be 
heard,  which  was  to  be  the  signal  for  an  im- 
mediate advance.  This  arranged,  De  Villiers 
returned  to  the  fort,  and  sending  for  the  Sauk 
chiefs,  laid  his  demands  before  them. 

Life,  he  said,  had  been  accorded  by  the 
government  to  the  Fox  fugitives,  but  only  on 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


139 


tween 
idage. 
I  went 

5  little 
:,   that 
se  civ- 
il! Bay 
r  they 
in  the 
om  the 
illy  de- 
and  to 
ly,  the 
y  sent 
ed   In- 
d  been 
r,  after 
rs,  this 
:  a  mile 
)uld  be 
an  im- 
Villiers 
s  Sauk 

by  the 
)nly  on 


condition  that  they  should  deliver  themselves 
to  him,  in  order  to  be  carried  to  Montreal;  if 
they  were  not  forthcoming  at  a  certain  hour, 
he  further  declared,  he  himself  would  go  to  the 
Sauk  village  and  take  them.  The  chiefs  lis- 
tened gravely  and  then  withdrew  to  consult 
with  their  people.  One  can  readily  imagine 
the  results;  the  Foxes  having  in  view  the  fate 
of  their  great  chief,  Kiala,  and  the  horrors  of 
Martinique,  were  quite  unwilling  to  go  to  Mon- 
treal; the  Sauks,  with  whom,  as  with  all  sav- 
ages, the  rites  of  hospitality  were  sacred, 
having  once  welcomed  the  fugitives  into  their 
cabin,  would  not  betray  them.  The  hour 
passed;  but  the  Foxes  did  not  appear  at  the 
fort.  De  Villiers  taking  with  him  De  Repen- 
tigny  and  eight  other  Frenchmen,  hastened 
to  the  palisaded  village  of  the  Sauks  to  carry 
out  his  threat.  Enraged  by  the  contempt  of 
the  savages  for  his  authority,  and  maddened, 
according  to  the  traditions,  by  strong  drink, 
he  attempted  to  force  an  entrance.  The  prin- 
cipal chief  entreated  him  to  desist,  saying  that 
the  young  men  could  not  be  controlled,  and 
that  if  he  did  more,  he  was  a  dead  man.' 

(1)  Ferland.  Coura  d'  Hiatoire,  II,  440.  He  is  abun- 
dantly corroborated  by  no  less  than  five  lengthy  dispatches 
devoted  to  this  affair  that  are  listed  in  Brymner's  Report. 
1886. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


The  furious  Frenchman  not  only  persisted, 
but  drew  up  his  gun  and  shot  the  chief  dead. 
With  unabated  fury  he  slew  another  chief,  and 
then  a  third.  For  a  moment  the  Sauks  were 
stupefied,  and  the  first  to  recover  himself  was 
a  brave  boy,  only  twelve  years  of  age,  who 
leveled  his  gun  and  killed  the  brutal  comman- 
dant.' Then  a  general  melee  ensued,  in  which 
De  Repentigny  and  all  the  Frenchmen  except 
one  were  slain. 

In  this  account  I  have  followed  the  French 
reports  except  in  regard  to  the  first  firing, 
which  they  claim  was  done  by  the  Indians. 
But  herein  the  carefully  preserved  tradition  is 
intrinsically  more  credible;  besides,  it  is  cor- 
roborated by  the  admission  of  the  official  dis- 
patches, that  "the  disaster  was  caused  by 
the  rash  courage  of  De  Villiers."'  And  which- 
ever account  may  be  true,  it  is  plain  enough 
that  the  outrageous  Frenchman  met  only  his 
just  deserts. 

But   the   French  thought  only  of  revenge. 

(1)  Orignon'8  RecoUectiona.  Wia.  Hist.  Golls.,  Ill,  204. 
So  far  as  known  to  me,  this  noted  tradition  recorded  by 
Grignon,  has  never  before  this  been  corroborated  and  its 
date  fixed  by  reference  to  Ferland  or  to  the  Canadian  Re- 
ports. Another  version  of  the  tradition  is  given  in  Wia. 
Hiat.  Colla,  VIII,  207. 

(2)  Letter  of  Beauharnoia  to  the  minister,  Oct.  13,  1733. 
Canadian  Archives,  18S6,  p.  cxx. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


141 


The  governor  writing  to  the  minister  recounts 
"  the  perfidy  of  the  Sauks,  who  have  killed 
De  Villiers  and  others;"  and  declares  that  it  is 
necessary  to  avenge  them.'  The  Sauks,  fore- 
seeing the  storm  of  vengeance  that  was  to 
burst  upon  them,  prepared  to  abandon  their 
country  forever,  and  after  three  days  set  out  in 
the  darkness  of  the  night.  The  French,  who 
had  not  dared  attack  them  behind  their  pali- 
sades, pursued  and  overtook  them  about  twen- 
ty miles  away.  There  a  fierce  battle  was 
fought  with  heavy  losses  on  both  sides.  The 
Sauks  then  continued  on  their  way. 

The  exiles  wandered  far  and  long,  gathering 
up  the  fragments  of  the  Fox  nation  as  they 
went.  In  their  extremity  they  sought  an  asy- 
lum among  the  lowas,  but  were  refused.  Then 
they  turned  to  the  Sioux  and  Winnebagoes 
settled  around  Fort  Beauharnois.  But  these 
prudent  savages  were  solicitous  for  their  trade; 
vowed  eternal  friendship  with  the  French  and 
asked  to  be  led  to  battle  against  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes.  Linctot,  the  commandant,  however, 
doubted  the  depth  of  their  devotion,  and 
wisely  refused  to  head  another  crusade.''    The 

(1)  Report  of  Beauharnois  and  Hocqunrt,  Nov.  11, 1733, 
Ibid,  cxix. 

(2)  Margry,  VI,  570.  Extract  d'une  Lettre  Mme.  de 
Beauharnois  et  Hocquart  au  de  Ministre  de  la  Marine. 
7  Oct.  1734. 


142 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


wanderers,  left  to  themselves,  finally  fixed  their 
abode  on  the  Wapsipinacon  river  about  two 
or  three  day's  journey  southwest  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Wisconsin. 

Even  into  this  far  country  the  hate  of  the 
French  pursued  them.  In  August,  1734,  De 
Noyelles,  with  eighty'  Frenchmen  and  the 
usual  contingent  of  converted  savages,  set  out 
from  Montreal  to  reach  the  exiled  Sacs  and 
Foxes.  This  expedition  from  the  first,  was 
strangely  mismanaged;  several  months  were 
consumed  in  the  march;  in  the  meantime  the 
enemy  had  fled  farther  westward  and  strongly 
fortified  themselves  on  the  banks  of  the  Des 
Moines.  The  French  arriving  at  last,  carried 
on  a  desultory  and  farcical  kind  of  siege  for 
several  weeks.  Their  Indian  allies  grew  dis- 
gusted and  many  deserted.  As  all  hopes  of 
success  dwindled  away,  t^^e  French  smothered 
their  wrath  and  began  to  negotiate.  They 
succeeded  in  cajoling  the  Sauks  into  some  sort 
of  a  promise  that  they  would  separate  from 
the  Foxes  and  relight  their  fires  at  Green  Bay. 
Then  the  French  set  out  on  their  inglorious  re- 
turn' 

(1)  60  were  regular  soldiers,  according  to  the  army  re 
port  of  Beauharnois,  Oct.,  1734.  Neiv  York  Coll  Doca,  IX, 
1046. 

(2)  Ferland,  II,  441.  Also  N.  Y,  Coll.  Documents,  IX, 
1051.  Three  dispatches  devoted  to  this  expedition  are 
listed  in  Can.  Archives,  p.  cxxto  cxvii. 


EXTERMINATION  BY  FIRE. 


143 


'•The  ill-success  of  De  Noyelle's  expedi- 
tion," wrote  the  governor  apologetically,  "was 
due  to  the  bad  conduct  of  the  Indians, 
and  especially  the  Hurons."'  But  the  French 
themselves  had  lost  all  stomach  for  any  further 
fight  with  their  indomitable  foes,  and  the  dis- 
patch just  quoted  proceeds  to  point  out  the 
"great  danger  of  pushing  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
to  extremity. "  The  next  year  it  was  announced 
that  peace  had  at  last  been  established  with 
those  nations.' 

Thus  the  war  against  the  Foxes  was  ended, 
after  having  lasted  just  a  quarter  of  a  century. 
During  that  time  these  savages  confronted  an 
array  of  horrors  which  has  no  counterpart  in 
history.  The  triple  agencies  of  the  sword, 
starvation  and  the  stake  were  evoked  to 
destroy  them.  They  v;ere  betrayed  by  their 
friends,  and  entrapped  by  the  matchless  per- 
fidy of  their  foes.  Their  homes  were  burned, 
their  lands  laid  waste  ,  and  they  themselves 
driven  forth,  like  wild  beasts  from  their  dens. 

In  four  states  of  this  Union,  Michigan,  Illi- 
nois, Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  they  were  hunted, 
besieged  and  slaughtered.  Wherever  they 
went  their  trail  could  almost  be  traced  by  the 
dripping  of  their  blood.   Two  thousand  of  them 

(1)  Letter  of  Beauharnoia,  Oct.  17,  1736. 

(2)  Ibid.,  Oct.  16,  1737.    C.  A.  p.  cxxxi. 


144 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


— if  the  French  did  not  over  estimate  their 
own  baseness — were  left  in  a  single  winter  to 
die  of  cold  and  hunger.  Out  of  their  small 
numbers  twenty-five  hundred  were  burned  to 
death  at  slow  fires. 

The  story  of  it  all  affects  us  like  the  visions 
of  Dante's  Inferno;  one  is  incredulous  rather  than 
horrified.  But  every  item  of  the  story  rests 
upon  the  admissions,  or  rather  the  boasts, 
of  the  French  themselves.  The  Indian  version 
of  it  has  never  been  told. 

And  these  wonderful  savages  were  not  ex- 
terminated. According  to  a  French  memoir 
of  1736,  they  still  had  one  hundred  warriors — 
seven  or  eight  hundred  souls  in  all.  Nor  were 
they  ever  subjugated.  That  same  year,  1736, 
Boulanger,  a  French  missionary,  wrote  to  the 
colonial  minister:  "They  have  deceived  the 
king  in  making  him  believe  that  the  Foxes  are 
destroyed  *  *  *  The  only  result  has  been 
to  augment  expenditures  and  render  that  na- 
tion more  insolent  then  before.'"  It  makes  one 
think  better  of  poor  humanity  to  read  that. 

The  Foxes,  although  reduced  to  a  little  band 
of  exiles,  were  as  undaunted  and  defiant  as 
ever.  But  in  attempting  to  destroy  them,  the 
French  Dominion  in  the  West  had  received  a 
blow  from  which  it  never  recovered. 


(1)  Ferland,  II,  441. 


i  their 

titer  to 

small 

ned  to 

visions 

ler  than 

■y  rests 

boasts, 

version 

not  ex- 
memoir 
irriors — 
lor  were 
r,  1736, 
J  to  the 
ived  the 
oxes  are 
las  been 
that  na- 
akes  one 
that. 
:tle  band 
sfiant  as 
lem,  the 
iceived  a 


Ci.:/\PTKR  X. 


THE   WEST  IN  REVOI.T 


1738-1752. 

We  have  described  in  a  former  chaptLT  the 
policy  of  cajolery  and  intimidation  by  which 
the  French  hoped  to  secure  the  allegiance  of 
the  Indians  and  the  control  of  the  continent. 
Up  to  1 712  this  policy  had  been  successful. 
Drawn  by  their  desire  for  trade  and  their  re- 
spect—  almost  reverence  —  for  the  mysterious 
power  of  the  whites,  the  Indians  were,  in  the 
main,  friendly  to  the  French.  But  at  the  end 
of  the  Fox  war  all  this  had  changed.  The  splen- 
did resistance  of  the  Wisconsin  savages,  and  the 
revelation  of  the  white  man's  weakness  and 
wickedness  had  disenchanted  the  Indians.  The 
prestige  of  the  French  was  gone.  The  larger 
part  of  their  trade  had  been  diverted  either  to 
Hudson's  Bay  or,  through  the  Iroquois,  to  the 
English  settlements  on  the  coast.  Indian  friend- 
ship had  given  way  to  turbulence,  sullenness 
and  contempt.  In  trying  to  stamp  out  the 
Wisconsin  fires  the  French  had  only  scattered 
the  sparks  in  every  direction. 

10 


,i  i 


146 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


The  Sioux,  the  ruling  nation  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  became  refractory  and  hostile.  In 
1736  they  massacred  a  part  of  Verendrie's 
force  and  put  av  end  to  his  explorations  in  the 
remote  West;  about  the  same  time  they  began 
a  fierce  war  against  the  Chippewa  allies  of  the 
French;'  and  the  next  year  became  so  riotous 
around  Fort  Beauharnois  on  Lake  Pepin  — 
burning  the  buildings  and  pillaging  the  traders 
—  that  the  post  had  to  be  abandoned.  "^  Thus 
the  French  were  cast  jff  from  the  West. 

Simultaneously  the  flames  of  revolt  burst 
forth  in  the  South,  and  the  French  suffered 
frightful  disasters  in  their  vain  attempt  to  sub- 
jugate the  Chickasaws.  Eastward  also  the  fires 
spread.  Even  those  humble  servants  of  the 
French,  the  Hurons  and  Ottawas  around  De- 
troit, became  turbulent  and  for  three  years 
made  ceaseless  trouble.^  In  1740,  the  Cana- 
dian governor  wrote  to  the  court  lamenting 
the  "drunkenness  and  insolence  of  the  Indian 
allies  in  the  West."'*  Discontent  and  tumult 
reigned  everywhere. 

(1)  Letters  of  La  Sonde,  Comd'tat  Chequamegon,  June] 
28  and  July  21,  1738.     Can.  Archives,  1886,  p.  cxxxiv. 

(2)  Margry.  VI,  575. 

(3)  Beauharnois  to  the  Minister,  Sept.  17,   1741.     Can. 
Archives,  1886,  p.  cxLix. 

(4)  Ibid,  July  6, 1740,  p.  cxiiiv.  . 


THE  WEST  IN  REVOLT. 


147 


ond  the 
stile.  In 
-rendrie's 

)ns  in  the 
ley  began 
lies  of  the 
so  riotous 
;   Pepin  — 
:he  traders 
id.'     Thus 
^est. 

jvolt   burst 
:h   suffered 
npt  to  sub- 
Iso  the  fires 
ints  of  the 
around  De- 
three  years 
,  the  Cana- 
t  lamenting 
[  the  Indian  | 
and  tumult' 


luamegon,  June  | 
p.cxxxiv. 

17,  1741.     Can. 


The  Foxes,  although  seemingly  crushed  and 
cut  to  pieces,  needed  only  a  little  breathing 
spell  and  then  they  too  were  ready  for  revolt. 
Peace  had  been  made  v.ith  them  in  1737  as  we 
have  seen.  But  it  could  not  have  lasted  long; 
for  in  1739  the  French  were  forced  to  make 
another  peace  with  these  irrepressible  savages.' 
This  proved  also  a  very  fleeting  affair.  The 
Foxes  renewed  their  ancient  alliance  with  the 
Sioux,  and  in  1741  both  were  again  warring 
against  the  French  allies,  the  Chippewas  in  the 
north  and  the  Illinois  in  the  south.'  In  1742, 
however,  the  Canadian  governor  announces 
"the  submission  of  the  Sioux,  Sauks  and 
Foxes.  "3  But  the  next  year  he  makes  another 
report  in  a  more  subdued  strain  concerning 
"the  measures  taken  to  prevent  a  union  be- 
tween the  Sioux  and  the  Foxes."" 

A  somewhat  later  dispatch  apologizes  for  the 
increase  of  colonial  expenditures  by  the  plea 
that  they  had  been  obliged  that  "year  to  give 
so  many  presents  to  the  Sioux,  the  Sauks  and 
Foxes.  "5  To  that  condition  the  French  Do- 
ll) Ibid,  June  30, 1739,  p.  cxxxvii. 

(2)  Ibid,  Sept.  24,  1741,  p.  CXLix. 

(3)  Ibid,  Sept.  24,  1742,  p.  cxMi. 

(4)  Ibid,  Sept.  18,  1743,  p.  cxLvi. 

(5)  Letter  to  Count  MsLurepaa,  Oct.  13, 1743.    N.  Y.  Col. 
Documents,  IX,  1099. 


148 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


minion  in  the  West  had  been  reduced.  It  ex- 
isted at  the  sufferance  of  these  truculent  sav- 
ages who  could  be  pacified  only  by  presents. 

During  these  turbulent  times,  the  Chippe- 
was  began  to  form  settlements  in  the  interior 
v)f  Northern  Wisconsin;  having  finally  lost  the 
friendship  and  trade  of  the  Sioux,  their  posi- 
tion on  the  shore  of  Lake  Superior  became  less 
valuable  and  many  of  them  withdrew  to  better 
hunting  grounds  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Chip- 
pewa and  other  rivers.  Tradition  preserves 
a  graceful  story  concerning  the  origin  of  one  of 
these  new  villages.  While  a  hunting  party  was 
encamped  on  the  shore  of  a  lake  in  the  forest, 
a  little  child  died  and  was  buried  by  the  water- 
side. The  party  pressed  on.  But  the  hearts 
of  the  father  and  mother  still  clung  to  the  child 
and  the  next  summer  they  came  back  to  grieve 
by  the  grave.  Unable  to  tear  themselves 
away,  they  built  their  lodge  there,  alone  in  the 
woods,  on  the  war-path  of  their  enemies,  but 
close  to  the  precious  ashes.  But  their  grief 
was  sacred  and  no  one  molested  them.  From 
time  to  time  other  Chippewas  came  and  built 
their  lodges  likewise  by  the  side  of  the  lake. 
Thus  began  the  still  existing  village  of  Lac 
Court  Oreilles.* 

(1)  Warren,  History  of  the  OJibvaya.    Minnesota  Hist. 
11,  V.  127. 


THE  WEST  IN  REVOLT. 


149 


Itex- 
ent  sav- 
sents. 
Chippe- 

interior 
r  lost  the 
leir  posi- 
came  less 
to  better 
the  Chip- 
preserves 
1  of  one  of 
party  was 
fhe  forest, 
the  water- 
the  hearts 
o  the  child 
k  to  grieve 
themselves 
lone  in  the 
lemies,  but 

their  grief 
ixn.  From 
e  and  built 
)f  the  lake, 
age  of  Lac 

inn€80ta  Hist. 


The  story  has  no  sponsor  except  tradition. 
But  it  is  of  historic  value  for  the  light  it  throws 
upon  the  Indian  nature — that  tangled  incon- 
gruity of  good  and  bad  which  underlies  the  red 
skin  and  the  white. 

Still  the  whirligig  of  war  and  peace  went  on. 
lu  1747  the  Canadian  governor  wrote  to  the 
colonial  minister  that  "there  is  a  great  change 
of  feeling  among  the  Indians  of  the  West,  and 
that  the  state  of  affairs  there  is  very  bad."' 
In  1747,  Marin,  commanding  at  St.  Joseph  in 
Western  Michigan,  reports  that  the  savages  in 
that  quarter,  heretofore  so  faithful  to  the 
French,  "are  being  debauched  by  the  English."' 
The  same  year  another  commandant  writes 
concerning  "the  great  revolt  in  the  Detroit 
region."^  Of  this  revolt,  notable  as  arising 
among  the  chief  allies  of  the  French,  Pontiac 
spoke  in  1763,  saying  that  "seventeen  years 
ago  the  Northern  nations  combined  under  the 
great  chief,  Mackinac,  and  came  to  destroy  the 
French  at  Detroit;  and  that  he  (Pontiac)  aided 
the  French  in  lighting  their  battles  with  Mack- 
inac and  driving  him  home  to  his  country."* 

(1)  Beauharnois  to  the  Minister  Oct,  29,  1745.     Cana- 
dian  Archives,  1887,  p.  clvii. 

(2)  New  York  Col.  Documents,  X,  139, 

(3)  M.  de  Raymond  to  the  Minister,  Nov.  2, 1747.  Ca88, 
Archives,  1887,  p.  CLXV. 

(4)  Smith.    History  of  Wisconsin,  I,  361, 


I50 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


The  next  year  the  Miamis,  then  the  most 
powerful  and  peaceful  confederacy  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  revolted,  pillaged  a  French  fort 
and  committed  other  acts  of  violence.*  The 
French  began  to  see  the  handwriting  on  the 
wall.  Startling  rumors  arose  of  a  vast  con- 
spiracy among  all  the  Western  Indians  to  de- 
stroy the  trading  posts  and  drive  the  white 
man  from  the  country."  Even  the  Chippewas, 
so  long  faithful  to  the  French,  were  now  drawn 
into  the  fiery  circle  of  revolt.  In  1748,  Galis- 
soniere,  the  governor,  reports  that  the  voy- 
ageurs  had  been  robbed  and  maltreated  at  Sault 
Ste  Marie  and  elsewhere  on  Lake  Superior. 
"In  fine,"  he  adds,  "there  appears  to  be  no 
security  anywhere."^ 

In  1750  the  Miamis  again  revolted,  leaguing 
themselves  with  the  Mascoutins  on  Rock  River 
and  even  urging  the  Illinois  to  join  them;  but 
the  latter  with  characteristic  slavishness  be- 
trayed the  plot  to  the  French.*     And  not  long 

I.I        .       .--  -    .  ■,■■.—■■— —I.  .—  —         y         I  .1  ■— .i.-i— .  -i»      ,..  I.    .    I  ...  ■■■■,..-.  .,  ■_ 

(1)  New  York  Coll.  Documente,  X,  140  and  150.  Also 
other  references. 

(2)  Ibid.,U2. 

(3)  Letter  to  Count  Afaurepaa,  Oct.  1748.  Neillin  Minn. 
Hiat.  Coll.,\,  430. 

(4)  Letter  of  M.  Benoiat,  concerning  a  conspiracy  of  the 
Miamis,  Oct.  1,  1751.  Can.  Archives,  1887,  p.  cxc.  Also 
Dispatch  of  De  Vaudreuil,  Sept.  18,  1750.  N.  Y.  Col. 
Documents,  X,  220. 


le  most 
:  of  the 
ch   fort 
.'     The 
on  the 
ist  con- 
s  to  de- 
le  white 
ppewas, 
w  drawn 
8,  Galis- 
the  voy- 
1  at  Sault 
Superior. 
;o  be  no 

leaguing 
Dck  River 
hem;  but 
hness  be- 
l  not  long 

150.    Also 

eillinMinn. 

tiracy  of  tht 

.  cxo.    Also 

N.  Y.  Col 


THE  WEST  IN  REVOLT. 


151 


after,  the  French  were  forced  to  build  a  fort  at 
Sault  Ste  Marie,  "to  prevent  the  Chippcwas 
and  other  Indians  from  communicating  with 
the  English."' 

Thus  J  have  laboriously  collected  the  widely 
scattered  evidence  of  the  real  relations  subsist- 
ing between  the  French  and  Indians.  The 
common  conception  which  has  passed  into  his- 
tory is,  that  the  two  races  dwelt  together  like 
cooing  doves.  But  in  fact,  from  1737  onward 
the  French  could  hardly  depend  upon  the 
friendship  even  of  the  refugee  tribes,  the 
Hurons,  Ottawas  and  others.  And  of  the 
original  occupants  of  the  West  all  were  hostile 
except  the  Illinois,  a  people  debauched  and 
spiritless  who  were  fast  fading  away  before  the 
fury  of  the  Foxes  and  the  Sioux. 

We  catch  a  glimpse  also  of  the  hidden  forces 
that  were  working  for  the  overthrow  of  New 
France.  Her  destiny  had  been  virtually  de- 
cided long  before  the  English  armies  encamped 
around  Quebec.  The  policy  by  which  she 
hoped  to  hold  the  continent  had  proved  an 
utter  failure;  the  Indians  were  estranged  and 
trade  demoralized;  a  chaos  of  revolt  and  mis- 
rule had  set  in  throughout  the  whole  magnifi- 
cent domain. 

(1)  Jonquiere  to  the  Minister,  Oct.  5, 1751.  Can.  Archives, 

CLXXXIX. 


152 


HISTORY  OF  WI8C0NS  V. 


And  has  it  not  been  likewise  shown  that  the 
long  and  gallant  resistance  of  the  Wisconsin 
Indians,  in  the  face  of  great  odds  and  frightful 
sufferings,  was  the  entering  wedge  of  ruin  for 
the  French  Dominion  in  America.    . 


Other  causes  were,  of  course,  conspiring  to 
hurry  on  the  PVench  Dominion  to  ruin.  By 
the  middle  of  the  century  the  colonial  govern- 
ment had  touched  the  lowest  point  of  corrup- 
tion. It  was  the  era  of  Bigot,  the  evil  genius 
of  New  France.  He  and  his  accomplices  were 
stealing  millions  from  the  king,  the  colonists, 
the  soldiers  and  the  savages.  No  one  escaped 
their  rapacity;  even  the  Acadian  exiles  were 
fed  on  mouldered  and  unsaleable  cod-fish,  which 
was  charged  to  the  king  at  enormous  prices.' 
Montcalm  boldly  averred  that  the  chief 
officials  of  New  France  were  "hoping  and  plot- 
ting for  the  ruin  of  the  colony  in  order  that  all 
recorded  evidence  of  their  peculations  might 
be  hidden  under  the  wreck.'"'  . 

Under  such  malign  influences  the  fur  trade 
sank  lower  and  lower,  until  it  became  but  an- 
other name  for  plundering  the  savages.     Ac- 

(1)  Parkman.  Montcalm  and  Wolf,  II,  27. 

(2)  Montcalm  to  Marshal  de  Belle  Isle,  April  12,  1759. 
Can.  Archives,  1887,  p.  coxxix.  Also  Gameau.  History 
of  Canada,  1,  547. 


THE  WEST  IN  REVOLT. 


153 


cording  to  the  admission  of  the  French  them- 
selves their  goods  were  inferior  and  their 
prices  enormous.'  The  traders  carried  large 
supplies  of  liquors  and  made  the  savages  drunk 
in  order  to  swindle  them  more  effectually.  At 
one  western  post  in  1754,  beaver  skins  were 
sold  for  four  grains  of  pepper  apiece;  and  a 
pound  of  paint  which  the  savages  bought  to 
improve  their  complexions,  realized  a  profit  of 
eight  hundred  francs." 

The  savages  struggled  to  escape  from  such 
a  .system  of  multiplied  robberies.  The  Miamis 
for  instance,  after  two  or  three  revolts,  moved 
eastward  into  Ohio  in  order  to  open  trade  with 
the  English.  "Our  friendship,"  they  told 
Gist,  the  envoy  from  Virginia,  "shall  stand 
like  the  lofty  mountain."  ^ 

Even  in  these  evil  times  Wisconsin  did  not 
lose  the  prominence  which  it  had  had  from  the 
first  days  of  the  French  Dominion.  Green  Bay 
now  became  the  chief  center  of  operations  in 
the  west  for  that  band  of  corrupt  officials  who 
were  plundering  both  the  Indians  and  the  gov- 
ernment. 

(1)  Bigot  to  the  Minister,  Oct.  1749.  N.  Y.  Coll.  Docu- 
ments, X,  200.  Also  De  Bougainville,  in  Margry's  Memoirs 
Inedites,  p.  74. 

(2)  Smith.  Canada,  I,  p.  Lxviii. 

(3)  Bancroft.  History  of  the  United  States,  III,  54. 


154 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


In  1750  Marin  was  sent  to  Green  Bay  osten- 
sibly to  act  as  governor  of  the  northwest  and 
to  continue  the  explorations  of  Verendry  in 
search  of  a  passage  to  the  Sea  of  the  West. 
Really  he  came  to  manage  the  affairs  of  a  se- 
cret partnership,  of  which  he  himself,  Bigot, 
the  intendant  of  the  colony,  and  La  Jonquiere, 
its  governor,  were  the  members.^  Their  object 
was  to  monopolize  as  far  as  possible  the  fur 
trade  of  the  Northwest,  and  their  annual  profits 
amounted  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
livres,  equal  to  as  many  dollars  in  the  present  day. 
Besides,  the  firm  was  engaged  in  other  transac- 
tions. They  divided  among  themselves  the 
profits  of  Capt.  St.  Pierre's  exploring  expedi- 
tion, which  made  no  discoveries,  but  brought 
back  furs  of  great  value;  the  governor's  share, 
alone,  it  is  said,  amounting  to  three  hundred 
thousand  livres.  In  all  the  gains  of  the  Green 
Bay  ring,  from  their  various  enterprises,  must 
have  amounted  to  millions. 

While  thus  engaged  Marin  became  the  hero 
of  an  exploit  more  noted  than  anything  else  in 
the  traditionary  annals  of  Wisconsin.  But 
heretofore  the  date  of  it  has  not  been  fixed; 
and  even  the  chief  actor  has  been  known  only 

(1)  Memoire  de  Bougainville  sur  VEtat  de  la  Nouvelle 
France.  Maxgry.  Memoires  Ineditea,  p.  59. 


THE  WEST  W  REVOLT. 


155 


osten- 
ist  and 
idry  in 
;  West. 
3f  a  se- 
,  Bigot, 
nquiere, 
r  object 

the  fur 
al  profits 
housand 
sent  day. 

transac- 
^Ives   the 

expedi- 

brought 
r's  share, 

hundred 

le  Green 
ses,  must 

the  hero 
ng  else  in 
sin.  But 
^en  fixed; 
lown  only 

la  Nouvelle 


as  a  "prominent  French  trader,"  otherwise 
unidentified. 

Some  time  before,  the  Fox  Indians  had  crept 
back  to  their  old  homes  on  the  Fox  river  and 
with  their  wonted  arrogance,  began  to  levy 
tribute  upon  the  passing  traders.  The  com- 
merce of  the  whole  Upper  Mississippi  country 
was  at  their  mercy.  Marin  resolved  to  put  a 
stop  to  this;  and  quietly  collecting  all  his 
available  forces,  he  set  out  from  Green  Bay 
with  the  utmost  secrecy.  Arriving  at  a  point 
some  miles  below  the  Fox  village,  the  force 
was  divided,  one  part  disembarking  and  going 
by  land  to  attack  the  savages  in  the  rear. 
The  rest  laid  down  in  the  canoes  and  were 
covered  over  by  large  tarpaulins  such  as  were 
used  by  traders  to  shield  their  goods  from  the 
weather.  Two  men  to  row  each  boat  were 
left  in  view.  It  was  to  all  appearance  a  peace- 
ful trading  fleet.    ^  ^ 

In  due  time  the  Foxes  discovered  the  ap- 
proach of  the  fleet.  Rushing  to  the  shore  they 
hung  out  a  lighted  torch,  the  usual  signal  for 
the  traders  to  land  at  this  aboriginal  custom 
house.  Then  they  squatted  upon  the  bank 
and  waited  patiently  for  their  customary  dues. 
The  boats  rounded  to,  in  obedience  to  the  sig- 
nal and  drew  close  to  the  shore;  the  savages 


156 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


still  sat  expectant  but  serene,  with  all  the 
grave  decorum  of  Indiana  upon  a  state  occa- 
sion. •    ' 

Suddenly  the  tarpaulins  were  flung  off  from 
the  boats.  A  long  line  of  armed  men  sprang 
up,  with  their  guns  pointed  at  the  astounded 
Foxes.  It  was  as  if  the  infernal  flames  had 
burst  from  the  depths  of  the.  river.  The  sav- 
ages had  hardly  sprung  to  their  feet  before 
many  were  mowed  down  by  a  volley  of  mus- 
ketry and  the  discharge  of  a  swivel  gun  loaded 
with  grape  and  canister.  The  rest,  with  a  yell 
of  dismay,  fled  to  their  village,  closely  pursued 
by  the  French.  Here  a  new  horror  confronted 
the  flying  mob.  The  flanking  party  had  by 
this  time  reached  the  rear  of  the  village;  some 
of  them,  creeping  stealthily  in,  had  set  on  fire 
the  frail  bark  cabins;  and  the  wind  was  wrap- 
ping everything  in  flames. 

The  Foxes,  rushing  wildly  about  amidst 
their  burning  cabins,  found  themselves 
hemmed  in  by  a  F*;orm  of  bullets  from  front  and 
rear.  Women  and  children  ran  to  and  fro, 
shrieking  and  blind  with  fright;  mothers 
snatched  their  babes  and  fled  they  knew  not 
whither. 

But  the  warriors,  long  schooled  by  the 
French  in  such  horrors,  rallied  and  fought  des- 


THE  WEST  IN  REVOLT. 


157 


all    the 
te  occa- 

off  from 
1  sprang 
tounded 
mes  had 
rhe  sav- 
t  before 
of  mus- 
n  loaded 
ith  a  yell 
'  pursued 
jnfronted 
had  by 
ge;  some 
et  on  fire 
^as  wrap- 
amidst 
lemselves 
front  and 
and  fro, 
mothers 
cnew  not 

by   the 
ught  des- 


perately. Out  of  the  smoke  and  flame  they 
flung  themselves  against  the  force  in  the  rear 
and  struggled  to  cut  their  way  through,  with 
knives  and  tomahawks.  Many  succeeded  and 
escaped  into  the  forest,  followed  by  throngs 
of  women  and  children.  The  rest  were  hewn 
down,  singing  their  death-song  amidst  the 
flames.  No  quarter  was  given  and  none  was 
asked.  In  a  few  moments  all  was  over. 
What  a  little  while  before  had  been  a  peaceful 
village,  was  a^heap  of  ashes  studded  with  the 
dead. 

As  a  mere  tragedy,  this  is  rivalled  by  many 
others  in  the  appalling  story  of  the  war  against 
the  Foxes.  But  the  grotesque  surprise,  the 
grim  glare  of  humor  lighting  up  the  horror, 
makes  an  altogether  matchless  scene.  Ac- 
cording to  the  traditions,  Marin  struck  other 
blows  against  his  enemy,  but  the  accounts  are 
too  confused  to  enter  into  sober  history.  Suf- 
fice it  that  the  Foxes  were  expelled  forever 
from  their  ancient  home  and  once  more  found 
a  refuge  on  the  Wisconsin. 

But  let  us  do  no  injustice  to  Marin.  He 
was  a  soldier  with  a  military  code  of  morals; 
but  he  was  wise,  brave  and  loyal  to  France. 
The  stern  and2.incorruptible  Du  Quesne,    ad- 


158 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


mired  him  greatly'  and  selected  him  as  the  one 
man  fitted  to  command  on  the  Ohio,  ir  that 
critical  hour  when  the  Indian  revolt  had 
reached  its  height  and  New  France  was  begin- 
ning its  last  struggle  for  life.  Thus  he  was 
called  from  his  speculations  at  Green  Bay  to 
nobler  tasks.  A  few  months  afterward  he 
died;  and  Du  Quesne  wrote  to  the  king  that 
••the  death  of  Marin  is  an  irreparable  loss  to 
the  colony."'         , 


(1)  New  York  Coll.  Documents,  X,  254. 
VI.  634. 

(2)  Du  Queane  to  the  Minister,  Oct.  1,  1753. 
chives.  1887,  p.  cxcvi. 


Also  Margry, 
Can.  Ar- 


the  one 
ir   that 
rolt    had 
IS  begin- 
is  he  was 
n  Bay  to 
-ward   he 
king  that 
)le  loss  to 

jso  Margry. 
3.    Can.  Ar- 


CHAPTER  XL 

THE   FALL   OF    THE    FRENCH    EMPIRE. 
I752-1763. 

The  Sauks,  after  their  expulsion  from  the 
Green  Bay  region,  built  a  town  on  the  banks 
of  the  Wisconsin  near  what  is  now  Prairie  du 
Sac.  Carver,  who  travelled  through  Wiscon- 
sin in  1766,  describes  it  as  the  largest  and  best 
built  Indian  town  that  he  ever  saw.  "It  con- 
tained about  ninety  houses,  each  large  enough 
for  several  families,  built  of  heavy  planks, 
neatly  jointed  and  covered  so  compactly  with 
bark  as  to  keep  out  the  most  penetrating  rains. 
Before  the  doors  were  placed  comfortable  sheds 
in  which  the  inhabitants  sat  when  the  weather 
would  permit  and  smoked  their  pipes.  The 
streets  were  both  regular  and  spacious,  appear- 
ing more  like  a  civilized  town  than  the  abode 
of  savages.  The  land  was  rich,  and  corn, 
beans  and  melons  were  raised  in  large  quanti- 
ties."' 

(1)  Carver.  Travels.  47.  A  very  admirable  account  of 
this  noted  traveller  is  given  by  Durrle.  WiscotMin  Hiat. 
Coll.,  VI,  220-270. 


lOO 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


The  Foxes,  after  their  long  wanderings,  fi- 
nally settled  near  the  mouth  of  the  Wisconsin, 
on  the  site  of  Prairie  du  Chien.  They  had 
selected  their  new  location  with  characteristic 
sagacity,  and  it  soon  became  the  great  mart  of 
the  Northwest,  There  the  adjacent  tribes  and 
even  those  from  the  remote  branches  of  the 
Mississippi  annually  assembled  about  the  end 
of  May;  and  it  was  determined  in  a  general 
council  whether  it  would  be  best  to  dispose  of 
their  furs  to  the  traders  upon  the  spot  or  to 
transport  them   to  the  Lakes   or  to  Louisiana. 

Mining,  as  well  as  commerce,  contributed 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  Foxes.  Towards  the 
close  of  the  17th  century  the  Miamis  had 
worked  the  lead  mines  south  of  the  Wisconsin, 
but  probably  only  after  the  rude  fashion  known 
to  the  Iroquois  in  Canada,  who  hewed  out  long 
splinters  of  ore  and  cut  them  up  into  bullets.' 
But  the  Foxes  smelted  the  ores  and  carried  on 
a  regular  mining  industry  with  such  jealous 
secrecy  that  no  white  man  was  perm'tted  to 
come  near  their  mines.' 

From  their  firm  friends,  the  Sioux,  they  had 
obtained  horses  and  learned  the  art  of  horse- 


(1)  Boucher.  Canada. 

(2)  Early  History  Lead  Regions.     Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  VI, 
272.    Wa8hbume,i6tU,X244.  Shaw,  /6td,,  II,  228. 


-V 


FALL  OF  THE  FRENCH  EMPIRE. 


l6l 


ngs,  fi- 
consin, 
ey  had 
:teristic 
mart  of 
ibes  and 
of    the 
the  end 
general 
[spose  of 
>ot  or  to 
.ouisiana. 
ntributed 
vards  the 
imis   had 
/isconsin, 
on  known 
d  out  long 
3  bullets/ 
larrled  on 
:h    jealous 
m'tted  to 

I,  they  had 
of  horse- 


rise.  Coll.,  VI, 

11,228. 


manship,  so  that  in  a  few  years  their  warriors 
were  all  finely  mounted.' 

The  thoughtful  reader  will  be  surprised  by 
these  tokens  of  great  prosperity  and  progress 
on  the  part  of  a  people  who  for  more  than 
forty  years  had  been  crushed  under  almost 
every  conceivable  form  of  disaster  and  suffer- 
ing. And  his  wonder  will  grow  when  he  con- 
siders the  degradation  of  the  tribes  that  had 
clung  most  closely  to  the  French.  Carver, 
who  overflows  with  praises  of  the  Sauks  and 
Foxes,  describes  the  Chippewas  as  "the  nasti- 
est people"  he  had  ever  seen,  and  the  Illinois 
everywhere  were  a  bye-word  on  account  of 
their  vile  habits  and  their  cowardice.'' 

But  the  explanation  is  simple.  The  tribes 
that  had  been  the  most  hostile  to  the  white 
man,  his  faith  and  modes  of  life,  had  best  pre- 
served the  national  spirit,  the  respect  for  an- 
cestral and  public  opinion,  the  esprit  dv  corps 
upon  which  savage  virtue  depends.  "They 
combine,"  writes  Carver,'  "as  if  actuated  only 

(1)  Long,  Voyagefi  and  Travel»,149. 

(2)  Pitman,  Account  of  the  Misainftippi,  London,  1770, 
p.  53,  describes  the  Illinois  as  a  "poor,  debauclied  and  das- 
tardly people,"  but  praises  the  Mascoutlns,  Miamit%,  etc., 
as  brave  and  warlike.  Farkman  admits  the  extraordinary 
degradation  of  the  Illinois.    La  Salle,  207.  note. 

(3)  Travels,  412. 
11 


l62 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


by  one  soul.  The  honor  of  their  tribe  and  the 
welfare  of  the  nation  is  the  first  and  most  pre- 
dominating emotion  of  their  hearts.  Hence 
proceed  in  great  measure,  all  their  virtues  and 
vices.  They  brave  every  danger,  endure  the 
most  exquisite  torments  and  expire  triumph- 
ing in  their  fortiudc,  not  as  a  personal  quali- 
fication, but  as  a  national  characteristic." 

The  wisest  of  the  Indians  saw  that  they  must 
exclude  the  white  man's  influence  and  his  faith, 
if  they  wished  to  preserve  their  own  polity  and 
the  special  savage  virtues.  When  the  Sene- 
cas,  out  of  their  conquests,  gave  the  Shawnees 
a  country  to  dwell  in,  they  charged  them  never 
to  receive  Christianity  from  the  English.  "Be- 
fore the  missionaries  came,"  they  said,  "the 
Indians  were  an  honest,  sober  and  innocent 
people,  but  now  most  of  them  are  rogues;  they 
formerly  had  the  fear  of  God,  but  now  they 
hardly  believe  his  existence. "  '  Without  accept- 
ing all  that,  one  may  see  that  the  higher 
faith  must  necessarily  be  destructive  even  to 
what  is  best  in  the  lower. 


When  in  1752  the  elder  Marin  was  ordered 
to  take  command  on  the  Ohio,  his  son  succed- 
ed  him  at  Green  Bay.      Soon  a  new  partner- 

(1)  Long.  Voyages  and  Travels,  32. 


FALL  OF  THE  FRENCH  EMPIRE. 


163 


id  the 
5t  pre- 
Hence 
les  and 
ire  the 
iumph- 
l  quali- 

ey  must 
is  faith, 
)lity  and 
e  Sene- 
hawnees 
pm  never 
h.    "Be- 
d,    "the 
linnocent 
es;  they 

w    they 
,t  accept- 
higher 

even  to 


ordered 

In  succed- 

partner- 


ship  was  formed,  having  the  same  equivocal  ob- 
ject as  the  old  one,  but  composed  of  the 
younger  Marin,  and  Rigaud,  a  brother  of  the 
governor  of  Canada.  The  affairs  of  the  new 
firm  prospered,  and  in  two  years  the  partners 
divided  between  them  a  profit  of  one  hundred 
and  twelve  thousand  livres. ' 

Outside  of  these  transactions.  Marin  did 
good  service  for  New  France.  He  drew  back 
to  the  colony  for  a  time,  at  least,  the  fur 
trade  of  the  Northwest,  which  was  being  di- 
verted to  Hudson's  Bay."  "In  two  years,"  he 
r'aimed,  "I  travelled  more  than  two  thousand 
leagues  on  foot,  often  in  snow  and  ice,  running 
a  thousand  dangers  from  savage  tribes,  and 
meeting  privations  of  every  sort.  In  those 
two  years  I  conquered  more  than  twenty  na- 
tions, who  have  since  been  loyal  to  France  and 
made  war  in  our  behalf.  3"  There  is  doubtless 
some  excess  of  color  in  this,  but  still  Marin 
did  brilliant  work. 


(1)  Margry.  Memoires  Inedites,  .59.  '  '    . 

(2)  Dobbs.  Account  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Countries, 
London,  1745,  p.  43.  According  to  a  pamphlet  printed  in 
1750,  the  heavy  furs  went  to  Hudson's  Bay;  the  lighter  to 
Canada.  Shori  Statement,  etc.,  p.  16.  This  pamphlet  can 
be  found  in  the  library  of  the  Minnesota  Historical  So- 
ciety. 

(.S)  Margry,  VI,  654.  Also  N.  Y.  Coll.  Docimcvts,  X, 
263. 


1 64 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


A  still  more  notable  name  is  that  of  Charles 
Langlade,  who  came  to  Green  Bay  as  a  trader 
about  the  middle  of  the  century.  The  brilliant 
service  and  the  utter  obscurity  of  this  man 
cause  one  to  almost  despair  of  history. 

In  1752  the  revolt  in  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio 
was  at  its  height,  the  Miamis  and  other  tribes 
having  entirely  renounced  allegiance  to 
France.  To  strike  terror  into  the  hearts  of 
these  savages,  an  expedition  mainly  composed 
of  the  faithful  Ottawas,  was  sent  from  northern 
Michigan,  and  Langlade,  whose  father  was  a 
Frenchman  but  his  mother  a  sister  of  the  Otta- 
wa head-chief,  was  placed  in  command.  The 
young  man,  then  only  twenty-three  years  old, 
marched  swiftly  to  western  Ohio,  with  a  force 
ot  thirty  Frenchman  and  250  Indians.  On  the 
morning  of  the  21st  of  June,  he  suddenly  ap- 
peared before  Picqua,  a  town  of  four  hundred 
families,  the  strongest  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Ohio  and  the  residence  of  the  grand  chief  of 
the  Miami  confederacy.  The  surprise  was 
complete,  and  after  a  short  but  fierce  resist- 
ence,  the  Miamis  surrendered.  One  English 
trader  was  killed  and  five  taken  prisoners,  the 
town  was  burned  and  the  grand  chief  of  the 
confederacy    sacrificed    at    a    cannibal   feast. 


FALL  OF  THE  FRENCH  EMPIRE. 


165 


Charles 
L  trader 
)rilUant 
lis  man 

he  Ohio 
-r  tribes 
ince     to 
learts  of 
omposed 
northern 
er  was  a 
the  Otta- 
id.     The 
rears  old, 
ti  a  force 
On  the 
denly  ap- 
r  hundred 
ey  of  the 
I  chief  of 
prise    was 
rce  resist- 
Enghsh 
,oners,  the 
ief  of  the 
bal   feast. 


Then  young  Langlade  swiftly  departed,    leav- 
ing the  French  flag  flying  over  the  ruins. 

"Thus,"  says  Bancroft,  "began  the  contest 
that  was  to  scatter  death  broadcast  through- 
out the  world."  The  immediate  results  of  this 
sharp  and  sudden  blow  were  very  great;  the 
Indians,  dismayed  by  such  prompt  vengeance, 
returned  to  their  old  allegiance,  and  soon 
throughout  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio  there  floated 
no  banner  but  that  of  France.  But  while  tHe 
colonial  authorities  exulted  in  his  success,  they 
dismissed  the  low-born  Langlade  with  disdain. 
"As  he  is  not  in  the  king's  service,  and  has 
married  a  squaw,"  wrote  Du  Quesne,  the  gov- 
ernor,"! will  ask  for  him  only  a  pension  of  two 
hundred  francs,  which  will  flatter  him  infinitely. ' 

The  young  leader,  therefore,  resumed  his 
former  work  at  Green  Bay,  bartering  calicos, 
needles  and  rum  for  the  furs  of  the  Indians. 
But  three  years  later  he  was  called  forth  again, 
to  lead  his  faithful  Ottawas  to  the  relief  of  the 
little  garrison  at  Fort  Du  Quesne,  then  imper- 
illed by  the  approach  of  Braddock  and  his 
army.  And  to  the  military  genius  of  this  un- 
trained  half-breed,    was   due    that     wonderful 


(1)  Du  Quesny  to  the  Miulster,  Oct.  25,  1752.  Can 
Achive»,  1887,  p.  cxci.  Also  Parkman.  Montcalm  and 
Wolfe,  l\,  84-85.  Parkman's  tone  is  as  lofty  as  the  French- 
ru.^n's. 


1 66 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


' '  Defeat  of  Braddock, "  the  fame  of  which  re- 
sounded throughout  Europe,  taught  the  thir- 
teen colonies  to  despise  the  English  regulars 
and  thus  led  the  way  to  the  War  of  Indepen- 
dence. The  statement  seems  incredibl'\  but 
as  will  be  seen  in  a  note  below,'  is  supported 
by  the  most  irrefragable  proofs. 

We  cannot  follow  further  the  life  of  Lang- 
lade. Suffice  it  that  throughout  the  war  he 
continued  to  render  valuable  although  not 
quite  so  splendid  services  to  France  —  each 
year  leading  down  the  Indian  allies  from  the 
West  to  the  aid  of  Montcalm.  But  it  was  all 
an  unavailing  struggle  in  behalf  of  what  long 
had   been  a  lost  cause.      The   Fox   wars   had 


(1)  First:  Gen.  Burgoyne,  writes  to  Lord  Germain,  July 
11.  1777,  of  Langlade  as  "the  very  man,  who  with  these 
tribes,  (Ottawas,  etc.)  projected  and  executed  Braddock's 
defeat."  Expedition  from  Canada,  London,  1786.  Ap- 
pendix, p.  XXI.  Second:  Anburey,  an  officer  in  Bur- 
goyne's  army,  wrote  in  1777,  that  they  were  expecting  the 
Ottawas,  led  by  St.  Luc,  and  Langlade,  and  adds  that  "the 
latter  is  the  person  who  at  the  head  of  the  tribe  which  he 
now  commands  planned  and  executed  the  defeat  of  Gen^ 
Braddock."  {Journey,  I,  315.)  Third:  The  very  circum- 
stantial account  given  by  Langlade  himself,  in  Grignon's 
Recollections.  {Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  Ill,  212-215.)  Fourth: 
The  testimony  of  De  Peystcr,  commanding  at  Mackinaw, 
who  in  his  Miscellanies  alludes  to  Langlade  as  "a  French 
officer  who  had  been  instrumental  in  defeating  Braddock." 
{Ibid.,  VII,  135,  note.)  Concerning  silence  of  French  offi- 
cial records,  see,  Ibid.,  p.  1.50-1. 


FALL  OF  THE  FRENCH  EMPIRE. 


167 


ich  re- 

-  thir- 
jgulars 
depen- 
le,  but 
►ported 

Lang- 
war  he 
gh    not 

—  each 
rom  the 

was  all 

at   long 

rs   had 


lain,  July 

ith  these 

raddock's 

86.    Ap- 

in  Bur- 
jcting  the 
that  "the 

which  he 
,t  of  Gen- 
Y  circum- 
Grignon's 
Fourth: 
lacklnaw, 
' a  French 
raddock." 

ench  offl- 


shown  twenty  years  before  that  it  was  impos- 
sible for  French  despotism  to  hold  America. 
The  sentence  then  pronounced  upon  the  French 
Dominion,  was  finally  carried  into  execution 
at  the  fall  of  Quebec. 

After  the  occupation  of  the  West  by  the 
English,'  Lanrj^lade  returned  to  Green  Bay  and 
founded  there  the  first  permanent  settlement 
of  white  men  in  Wisconsin  —  a  rude  little  vil- 
lage of  French  traders,  the  humble  monument 
of  a  fallen  Empire. 

(1)  In  Sir  Guy  Carleton's  report  of  1767,  Langlade's  resi- 
dence is  set  down  as  still  at  Michilliniackinac  Brymner, 
Can.  ArchiveH,  18H8,  p.  45. 


CHAPTER  XII. 


THE   CONSPIRACY   OF    PONTIAC. 


1763. 

The  English  in  their  occupation  of  the  coun- 
try, adopted  the  French  policy.  They  did  not 
design  to  form  settlements  in  the  West.  It 
was  feared  that  colonies  in  so  remote  a  region 
could  not  be  controlled  and  therefore  the  coun- 
try beyond  the  Alleghanies  was  shut  against 
the  emigrant.  Royal  orders  forbade  the  Vir- 
ginians from  settling  in  the  valley  of  the  Ohio; 
in  Penn.sylvania  it  was  even  proposed  to  aban- 
don Fort  Pitt,  and  to  bring  all  the  settlers 
back  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountains. 
"The  country  to  the  westward  quite  to  the 
Mississippi,  was  intended  to  be  a  desert  for  the 
Indians  to  hunt  in  and  to  inhabit."" 

Such  a  policy  made  it  easy  for  Pontiac  to 
organize  his  famous  conspiracy.  That  bloody 
postscript  to  the  history  of  the  French  Domin- 
ion has  been  strangely  misinterpreted;  it  is 
commonly  conceived  of  as  a  general  uprising 
of  the   Western  Indians  against  the  English; 

(1)  Bancroft,  III,  401-2. 


CONSPIRACY  OF  PONTIAC. 


169 


he  coun- 
y  did  not 
^cst.     It 

a  region 
the  coun- 
it  against 

the  Vir- 
the  Ohio; 
I  to  aban- 
e  settlers 
lountains. 
ite  to  the 
ert  for  the 

Tontiiic  to 
lat  bloody 
ch  Domin- 
eted;  it  is 
al  uprising 
e  English; 


and  its  chief  historian'  declares  that  "the 
whole  Algonquin  stock  with  a  few  unimpor- 
tant exceptions,"  were  engagea  i'  it.  But  all 
that  is  wild  and  wide  of  the  mark.  The  con- 
spiracy was  confined  to  what  we  have  described 
throughout  this  history  as  the  French  Indians, 
consisting  mostly  of  refugee  tribes  who  had  al- 
ways clung  to  France,  and  it  did  not  even  in- 
clude all  of  them.  That  large  part  of  the  Ot- 
tawas  that  dwelt  in  Northern  Michigan,  wav- 
ered, and  as  we  shall  see,  finally  sided  with 
the  English.  The  Chippewas  around  Mack- 
inaw were  active  conspirators;  but  the  main 
body  dwelling  at  Chequamegon  Bay — where 
were  the  council  house  and  sacred  fire  of  the 
nation  —  took  no  part  in  the  revolt.' 

Beyond  these  refugee  races  the  conspiracy 
did  not  spread.  The  Miamis,  the  dominant 
confederacy  in  the  Ohio  valley,  stood  aloof. 
Above  all,  the  tribes  massed  upon  the  Fox  and 
Wisconsin  rivers  —  the  Menominees,  Winne- 
bagoes,  Sauks  and  Foxes — adhered  firmly  to 
the  English  cause;  and  it  was  their  prompt, 
decisive  action  which  sealed  the  fate  of  the 
conspiracy.  Thus  to  the  end  Wisconsin  re- 
mained the  pivot  upon  which  the  fortunes  of 
the  West  revolved. 

(1)  ParkmAn,  Conspiracy  ofPontiac,!,  187. 

(2)  Warren,  Hist.  Ojibways.    Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  V.  210, 


I  JO  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

To  show  this  vvc  must  go  back  two  years. 
On  the  1 2th  of  October,  1761,  Lieut.  Gorrell, 
with  seventeen  men,  arrived  in  Green  Bay  to 
assume  command  of  the  Northwest.  Already 
the  fomenters  of  revolt  had  been  there.  Some 
French  traders  had  passed  up  Fox  river  on 
their  way  to  the  Sioux;  and  although  in  Eng- 
lish employ  they  had  "done  all  that  laid  in 
their  power  to  persuade  the  Bay  Indians  to  fall 
upon  the  English,  telling  them  that  the  latter 
were  very  weak  and  that  it  could  be  done  very 
readily." 

Some  of  the  young  warriors,  always  eager 
fo*-  any  fray,  were  willing  enough.  But  the 
ancient  hatred  and  scorn  of  the  French  flashed 
forth  in  the  answer  of  the  head-chief  of  the 
Sauks.  *'The  old  and  great  man  of  the  Sauk 
nation  whom  they  call  a  king,  told  the  French- 
men that  they  were  English  dogs  or  slaves  now 
that  they  were  conquered  by  the  English; 
that  they  only  wanted  his  men  to  fight  the 
English  for  them,  but  he  said  that  they  should 
not.  He  called  the  French  old  squaws  and 
commanded  the  young  men  to  desist,  which 
they  did  and  went  to  their  hunting."  ' 

The  winter  was  spent  in  repairing  the  old 
French  fort  and  the  buildings;  it  was  not  until 

(1)  QorrelV 8  Journal.     Win.  Hint,  Coll.,  I,  26. 


CONSPIRACY  OF  PONTIAC. 


171 


years, 
jorrell, 

Bay  to 

\lready 

Some 

•iver  on 

in  Kng- 

laid  in 
IS  to  fall 
le  latter 
)ne  very 

's  eager 
But  the 
1  flashed 
f  of  the 
he  Sauk 
French- 
ves  now 
English; 
ht  the 
/  should 
Lws  and 
which 

the  old 
lot  until 


the  next  season,  after  the  Indians  had  returned 
from  the'.r  hunting-grounds,  that  any  councils 
were  held.  First  came  the  Menominees. 
"They  were  very  poor,"  they  said,  "having 
lost  three  hundred  warriors  lately  with  the 
small-pox  and  most  of  their  chiefs  in  the  late 
war  in  which  they  had  been  engaged  by  the 
French  commandant  here  against  the  English." 
They  were  very  glad  to  find  that  the  English 
were  pleased  to  pardon  them  as  they  did  not 
expect  it  and  were  conscious  that  they  did  not 
merit  it.  They  asked  for  a  gun-smith,  and 
modestly  suggested  that  "the  French  always 
gave  them  rum  as  a  true  token  of  friendship." 
They  rejoiced  to  hear  that  the  English  traders 
were  coming  among  them.  "We  have  al- 
ready found  by  experience, "said  the  sagacious 
savages,  "that  the  goods  are  one-half  cheaper 
than  when  the  French  were  amongst  us." 

Some  Winnebago  chiefs  were  present  at  this 
council  and  spoke  to  the  same  effect.  A  fort- 
night later,  ambassadors  arrived  from  the 
Sauks  and  Foxes,  with  pledges  of  peace  and 
good-will.  In  August  the  chief  of  a  more  dis- 
tant town  of  the  Winnebagoes  came  to  declare 
that  his  people  had  never  been  at  war  with  the 
English,  nor  could  the  French  commander 
persuade  him  to  it  as   he  never  knew  of  any 


172  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

harm  the  English  had  done  him.  With  him 
came  also  four  ambassadors  from  the  lowas, 
who  said  that  "they  had  come  from  very  far 
to  see  if  I  would  shake  hands  with  them  and 
forgive  them  as  I  had  done  the  rest."' 

In  March,  1763,  the  long  looked  for  depu- 
ties of  the  Sioux  arrived.  They  brought  a  let- 
ter from  their  king  in  which  he  expressed  his 
joy  at  the  coming  of  the  English,  asked  for 
friendship  and  trade,  and  promised  that  if  the 
Chippewas  or  any  other  tribe  should  make 
trouble,  he  would  come  with  his  warriors  and 
wipe  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

Thus  all  the  tribes  of  the  Northwest,  from 
Lake  Michigan  to  the  Missouri,  had  welcomed 
the  English  with  unbounded  delight.  The 
time  was  now  near  when  their  loyalty  was  to 
be  put  to  the  test.  On  the  1 5th  of  June,  the 
news,  came  like  a  thunderbolt  out  of  a  clear  sky, 
that  the  Chippewas  had  captured  Mackinaw 
and  massacred  a  part  of  its  garrison.  Pontiac 
and  his  fellow  -  conspirators  had  begun  their 
work. 

Not  long  before  Pontiac  had  secretly  visited 
Wisconsin  and  won  over  the  Milwaukee  band, 
a  mixed  village  of  refractory  and  turbulent  In- 
dians, the  offscouring  of  many  different  tribes. 

(1)  Ibid.,  p.  30-36. 


CONSPIRACY  OF  PONTIAC. 


173 


th  him 
lowas, 
2ry  far 
;m  and 

depu- 
t  a  let- 
sed  his 
ced  for 
t  if  the 
I  make 
Dfs  and 

t,  from 
loomed 
.  The 
was  to 
ne,  the 
;ar  sky, 
ckinaw 
^ontiac 
n  their 

visited 

band, 

ent  In- 

tribes. 


But  the  real  tribes  of  Wisconsin  had  indig- 
nantly spurned  his  messages  and  war-belts. 
"I  want  no  such  message.  I  mean  to  do  no 
wrong  to  my  English  friends,"  Carron  the 
grand  chief  of  the  Menominees,  had  ans- 
wered. ' 

But  Gorrell  knew  nothing  of  this,  and  was 
naturally  very  much  alarmed.  In  an  agony 
of  suspense  he  went  to  the  Menominee  chiefs 
to  find  out  what  they  were  about  to  do.  A 
grand  council  of  the  whole  tribe  was  called, 
and  with  an  ardor  unusual  among  the  stoics  of 
the  forest,  all  agreed  that  they  would  go  to 
the  relief  of  the  English  at  Mackinaw.  Swift 
runners  were  also  sent  to  the  other  Indian  na- 
tions. Three  days  afterward  the  chiefs  of  the 
Winnebagoes,  Sauks  and  Foxes  arrived  in  great 
haste,  saying  that  their  warriors  were  on  the 
way.  With  them  came  Pennensha,  a  French 
trader,  but  a  firm  friend  of  the  English,  bring- 
ing new  pledges  of  fidelity  and  assistance  from 
the  Sioux.  When  all  the  warriors  had  arrived 
another  great  council  was  convened.  "All  the 
chiefs  said,"  writes  Gorrel,  "that  they  were  '-. 
glad  they  could  now  show  the  E  iglish  how 
much  they  loved  them,  and  that  we  should  find 

(1)  Orignon's  Recollectiona.  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  Ill,  226. 


174 


HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 


that  they  would  keep  their  promise  of  the  year 
before. '  . 

Preparations  were  speedily  made  and  then 
the  relieving  expedition  set  out  from  Green 
Bay.  The  Indians,  fully  alive  to  the  gravity 
of  the  crisis,  took  precautions  quite  unusual  for 
them;  every  night  before  landing  to  camp, 
they  sent  a  large  party  to  sccur  the  woods  in 
every  direction  in  order  to  guard  against  sur- 
prise. "The  king  of  the  Sauks,"  writes  Gorrel, 
always  went  in  the  batteau  with  me,  and  would 
always  lay  in  the  tent,  so  great  was  their  care." 
When  they  drew  near  the  village  of  the  Otta- 
was,  whom  they  believed  to  be  traitors  at 
heart, "*  they  made  ready  for  battle;  the  Eng- 
lish batteau  was  placed  in  the  centre;  the  Me- 
nominees,  stripped  for  action,  went  in  the 
front. 

At   the   sight  of  this  formidable  array,  the 

.  Ottawas  were  overawed.    They  resolved  to  side 

with   the  English,  although  the  other  half  of 

(1)  Parkman.  Conspiracy  of  Po...mc.,  I,  3G3,  at  a  loss 
for  any  plausible  explanation  of  the  action  of  the  Wiscon- 
sin Indians,  ascribes  it  to  Lieut.  "Gorrel's  prudence." 
There  is  not  the  least  spark,  of  evidence  to  this  effect. 
The  reader  of  the  preceding  pages  needs  no  explanation  of 
the  eagerness  with  which  these  savages  welcomed  the 
English  as  the  conquerors   *  the  hated  French. 

(2)  Before  leaving  Green  Bay,  they  told  Gorrel  not  to 
tnist  himself  to  the  Ottawas.  Wis.  Hiat.  Coll.,  I,  ''". 


CONSPIRACY  OF  POXTIAC. 


175 


ve  year 

d   then 
Green 
gravity 
isual  for 
)  camp, 
/oods  in 
nst  sur- 
j  Gorrel, 
lid  would 
sir  care." 
:he  Otta- 
aitors    at 
:he  Eng- 
;  the  Me- 
tt    in  the 

irray,  the 
ed  to  side 
-r  half  of 

B3,  at  a  loss 
the  Wiscon- 
prudence." 
this  effect, 
planation  of 
elcoraed  the 

torrel  not  to 


their  nation  at  Detroit  were  fighting  under  the 
lead  of  Pontiac.  And  so  the  expedition  was  re- 
ceived with  clamors  of  welcome,  salutes  were 
fired,  pipes  of  peace  were  smoked,  and  then  came 
feasting,  dancing  and  councils  without  end.  At 
first  the  Wisconsin  Indians  demanded  that  the 
Ottawas  should  join  with  them  in  reinstating  the 
English  commander,  Capt.  Etherington,  at 
Mackinaw.  But  this  the  Ottawas  were  not  will- 
ing to  attempt,  although  they  promised  to  do  all 
in  their  power  to  conduct  the  English  back  to 
Montreal.  And  it  is  not  likely  that  the  latter, 
;.fter  they  learned  what  was  going  on  at  De- 
troit and  in  the  lower  country,  wished  to  re- 
main. 

Gradually  the  bloodthirsty  Chippewas  also 
began  to  weaken.  On  the  1 3th  day  of  July 
they  came  to  the  English  very  penitently. 
"They  said  that  although  it  was  the  Chippe- 
was that  struck,  it  was  the  Ottawas  that  be- 
gan the  war  at  Detroit  and  instigated  them  to 
do  the  same.  If  the  General  would  forgive 
them  they  would  never  act  thus  again."  Capt. 
Etherington  replied  that  if  they  expected  any 
mercy  they  must  give  up  their  prisoners. 

The  next  day  the  Chippewas  returned  and 
asked  for  rum.  'Having  no  rum  to  give 
them,'    writes  Gorrel,   "they    went  away  and 


176  HISTORY  OF  WISCONSIN. 

said  no  more  to  us."  That  was  the  last  of 
Pontiac's  great  conspiracy  so  far  as  the  Northern 
nations  were  concerned.  In  a  little  while  the 
English  went  on  their  way  to  Montreal,  safe 
and  rejoicing. 

All  that  summer,  the  conspiracy,  like  a 
wounded  serpent,  dragged  its  hideous  length 
through  the  Valley  of  the  Ohio,  carrying  horror 
wherever  it  went.  In  the  autumn  it  came  to 
an  end.  Pontiac,  dejected  and  sullen,  wan- 
dered off  to  the  West,  and  was  killed  while  ca- 
rousing among  the  Illinois. 

How  little  this  noted  conspiracy  has  been 
understood,  is  shown  by  a  strange  error  into 
which,  at  this  point,  its  chief  historian  has 
fallen.  The  Sauks  and  Foxes  and  other 
friends  of  Pontiac,  we  are  gravely  told,  rose 
in  fury  to  avenge  his  death,  visiting  their 
vengeance  upon  the  Illinois  as  his  murderers. ' 
And  the  consequent  carnage  is  described  in 
terms  of  Homeric  song.  But  the  whole  state- 
ment, however  classically  adorned,  is  mar- 
velously  untrue. 

Our  brief  recital  has  proved  that  the  Wiscon- 

(1)  Parkman,  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  II,  312.  Parkman 
blindly  follows  a  confused  traditional^'  account  given  by 
some  writers  in  the  early  part  of  this  century.  The  war  of 
the  Sauks  and  Foxes  against  the  Illinois  was  going  on  be- 
fore Pontiac  was  bom. 


COySPlRACV  OF  PONTIAC. 


177 


last  of 
lorthern 
hile  the 
ial,   safe 

like  a 
IS  length 
ig  horror 
came  to 
:n,  wan- 
vhile  ca- 

has  been 
ror  into 
rian  has 
other 
old,  rose 
ng  their 
rderers. ' 
ribed  in 
e  state- 
is    mar- 

Wiscon- 

Parkman 
t  given  by 
The  war  of 
Ing  on  be- 


sin  Indians,  so  far  from  being  the  allies  and 
avengers  of  Pontiac,  were  his  chief  enemies. 
Their  resistance  broke  up  his  plans  and  brought 
all  his  schemes  to  nought.  If  the  prompt  ac- 
tion of  the  Wisconsin  Indians  had  not  over- 
awed the  Ottawas  and  curbed  the  Chippewas, 
the  latter,  after  completing  their  work  in  the 
North,  would  have  gone  to  the  help  of  their 
brethren  at  Detroit.  The  success  of  Pontiac 
would  then  have  been  assured.  The  irreso- 
lute Miamis  would  have  flung  themselves  fully 
into  the  fight.  And  with  the  active  aid  of  the 
Wisconsin  tribes  and  their  allies  in  the  North- 
west, the  flames  of  revolt  would  have  swept 
the  continent. 

One  result  would  certainly  have  followed. 
The  contest  for  American  independence,  which 
virtually  began  the  year  after  the  conspiracy 
ended,  would  have  been  indefinitely  postponed. 
The  thirteen  colonies,  so  long  as  their  frontier 
was  infested  by  hordes  of  fierce  and  irreconcil- 
able savages  —  'the  most  formidable  foe  upon 
the  face  of  the  earth"' — would  have  little 
thought  or  desire  of  separating  from  the  moth- 
er country.      Hut  al!  that    was   averted   by  the 

(1)  Barre,  the  compuukm  of  Wolfe,  a  man  who  knew  In- 
<Uan8  well,  thus  declared  in  the  British  parliament.     Ban- 
-•r.)ft,  Unileil  States,  III,  :\:\1.    , 
J2 


178 


HISTORY  OF  WI8C0NSIX. 


prompt  action  of  the  Wisconsin  Indians  at  the 
very  moment  when  everything  hung  trembling 
in  the  balance. 

Thus  the  Power  that  so  often  uses  the  weak 
things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  mighty, 
used  these  savages  for  two  great  purpos- 
es; first,  to  undermine  the  rule  of  French  des- 
potism in  the  West;  then,  to  secure  the  Eng- 
lish in  firm  and  peaceable  possession  of  the 
continent.  For  a  few  years  England  held  the 
grand  empire  in  trust  and  then  handed  it  over 
to  its  rightful  inheritors,  the  freemen  of 
America. 

So  much  was  done  in  Wisconsin  for  Ameri- 
can independence.  Let  no  pitiful  prejudice  of 
race  obscure  the  work  done  by  these  wild, 
unconscious  servants  of  liberty.  Their  man- 
ners were  rude  and  their  morals  chaotic,  but 
at  heart  they  were  less  savage  than  their  white 
antagonists.  They  had  not  attained  to  the 
niceties  of  civilization.  Neither  had  the  three 
hundred  who  died  at  Thermopylae  nor  the  vic- 
tors upon  the  field  of  Tours. 


[TIIK   KM).] 


s  at  the 
embling 

le  weak 
mighty, 
purpos- 
ich  des- 
le  Eng- 

of  the 
leld  the 

it  over 
men    of 

Ameri- 
udice  of 
e  wild, 
ir  man- 
tic,  but 
ir  white 
to  the 
le  three 
the  vie- 


i 


-S 


